For an event that Utah’s gymnastics team was supposed to be weaker in this season, the vault is turning out to be an early surprise in 2020.

The fifth-ranked Utes, who host Arizona State on Friday at 7 p.m., are ranked fifth nationally in the vault, averaging 49.15.

Oklahoma is ranked No. 1 with a 49.392 average.

That the Utes are doing well so far in the event is exciting for coach Tom Farden.

“That all of our captains are in the lineup makes a difference,” he said of Kim Tessen, Missy Reinstadtler and Sydney Soloski. “We have some good leadership so that gives us some stability.”

While the Utes continue to tweak things, the vault lineup seems to be settling.

Soloski seems to be a natural as the leadoff, scoring 9.8 in the season opener and 9.825 in the Best of Utah.

“She gives us a big shot in the arm,” Farden said. “She worked hard in the offseason and preseason and has improved her vault and is giving us a good start. That was our MO last year, to have a nice, dependable routine to get us started and that is Sydney.”

Sophomore Cammy Hall and Reinstadtler are in the second and third spots, followed by freshman Maile O’Keefe sliding into the fourth spot.

O’Keefe has scored 9.775s in the two meets this year as she continues to make her landings more consistent.

“We have worked on that a lot in the off week,” Farden said. “We are narrowing her landing and seeing it better.”

Tessen and Alexia Burch both have been used in the fifth and sixth spots.

Out of those competing, Tessen, Burch and Hall have 10.0 vaults. Reinstadtler and Jillian Hoffman, a freshman who has been sidelined with a sprained ankle, also are working toward 10.0 vaults, giving the Utes more scoring potential.

The Utes are hopeful Hoffman will work her way back into the lineup starting with the uneven bars this week.

“What I really like about our vaulting is the progression,” Farden said. “We had a 49.175 at the Best of Utah, 49.225 on bars and on up from there. That’s what we want to see.”

The loss Real Salt Lake suffered to the Seattle Sounders in last year’s Western Conference semifinals may have jolted the team into some realizations.

It was the second consecutive time the team had fallen in the semifinal round of the playoffs, a fact the team is aware of, has spoken publicly about since, and wants to rectify. RSL also finished the regular season only three points behind the Sounders, who went on to win the MLS Cup over Toronto FC.

And when they look back at just how their season ended, some within the organization feel that with some different luck, it could’ve been Salt Lake holding the trophy in the end. That retrospective has GM Elliot Fall thinking a championship might not be too far on the horizon.

“If you are able to build a solid foundation, have a core group of players that you believe in and that believe in each other, and then find the right difference makers that can help you win those games on any given day, you can compete for a championship in our league,” Fall told The Salt Lake Tribune. “And truthfully, I don't think we're that far from it.”

Fall is entering his first season as a Major League Soccer general manager. He had been the assistant GM for the past five years, and was named interim GM after Craig Waibel’s departure last September.

Fall’s role in the RSL front office grew since his time as team administrator in 2010. He said he saw how Waibel, Jason Kreis, Garth Lagerwey and Bill Manning handled the process of team building and learned many lessons along the way.

And while Fall feels mostly settled in to his new job, he also feels the added weigh that comes with it.

“We have a responsibility to this fan base and this community to pour our hearts and souls into this and put a winning team on the field and set this club up for success, both short term and long term,” Fall said. “So there's a lot of added expectation and a lot of stress involved as well.”

But Fall doesn’t see himself drastically changing how things are run in RSL’s front office. Instead, he wants to continue the club’s recent trajectory, which has focused on player development through the RSL Academy and also by bringing in people who haven’t yet reached their peak.

That’s not to say, however, that Fall and his staff — which includes former RSL defender Tony Beltran as assistant GM — won’t bring their own twist.

“I think we're a staff that is both young and hungry, but also a staff that has, for the most part, been in this organization for a reasonably extended period of time,” Fall said. “So we have the benefit of seeing how things have operated and how they've worked, but also being able to bring fresh ideas to the fold.”

RSL officially began its preparations for the 2020 season Saturday, and there’s already talk of heightened expectations for 2020. Fall said Monday that he feels good about the current state of the roster, but he also anticipates adding two more pieces.

“We really like the roster,” Fall said. “We've got a really good group returning from last year. … We’ve got a lot of young pieces that are continuing to grow and continuing to get better. And we'll continue to find the pieces to supplement those guys and help bring the rest of the group up.”

Fall said RSL may just be a difference-making player away from competing for a championship. That player could be one added externally, he said, but it is just as likely that the player already exists on the roster, and all he needs is time for that potential to be realized.

And with the right moves and development in the right spots, Fall doesn’t think it’s crazy that RSL has a shot at the title in 2020.

“I would say we’re doing everything we can to put a roster on the field that can compete for a championship this year,” Fall said. "And then it’s all about that stability and all about that foundation to allow us to raise that floor to the point where every year we can compete for a championship.”

I can just see the following scenario:

Somewhere in a bedroom, sexual tension is rapidly building. As the man in this scenario is frantically unwrapping a condom package, someone from the governor’s office breaks in demanding to seize the condom.

Ted Ottinger, Taylorsville

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Charitie Ropati watched the pilot episode of “Molly of Denali” in her Columbia University dorm room, huddled around a computer screen with friends.

"We were crying," Ropati said. "We realized we finally had positive representation."

"Molly of Denali" is the first cartoon series with an Alaska Native character as the lead. It premiered nationwide on PBS Kids in July.

For many, it is more than a cartoon.

"Watching the show is a way for my Native friends and I to bond," said 18-year-old Ropati, Yup'ik, who had just moved to New York City from Anchorage and was feeling homesick when the pilot aired. "PBS did such a good job. It is like my siblings, Native youth and myself can see ourselves in it."

The series, in its first season, has Indigenous input at all levels of production, Indian Country Today reported. It includes 38 episodes, a podcast series and a collection of paperback books.

Dorothea Gillim is the series' executive producer, a position she also held on "Curious George." After working in the industry for many years, she says this program is special.

"I've never worked on a show where people tear up on a regular basis," Gillim said.

Gillim says she recently heard about a non-Native family who wanted to make a trip to Alaska after watching the show. They called the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce to learn more about Alaska Native languages to prepare for their trip.

Her job as executive producer is multifaceted. She raises money for the show while leading a close-knit team. And she was also involved at the earliest moments of the show to choose writers, producers, animators, and voice actors.

One of the talents she gathered was Princess Johnson, Neets'aii Gwich'in. Johnson is the creative producer of "Molly of Denali."

Part of Johnson's job is to advocate for Indigenous representation at every level of the creative process. This means making sure things are done "right" in every episode, interstitial (a short-program shown between episodes that features Alaska Native children), online tools, games and podcast. She also ensures Alaska Natives are included as writers, actors and producers.

A job like this didn't always exist.

There are serious implications to many non-Native people creating media about Native people, a 2018 IllumiNative report says. “The story they adopt is overwhelmingly one of deficit and disparity,” the report states. “This narrative can undermine relationships with other communities of color.”

Many say "Molly of Denali" challenges that.

The series was developed with a group of over 60 established Alaska Native or Indigenous advisers. The advisers are from every region of Alaska where the show takes place. For every character that is Native, their voice actor is Native too.

Beyond this, there is also a fellowship program for Alaska Native writers. Atomic Cartoons, the lead animation company of the series, holds internships for Alaska Natives.

Vera Starbard, Tłingit and Dena'ina, is a writer for "Molly." She says she has worked on many artistic projects that involve Alaska Native people. "I've never experienced this level of dedication to getting it right," she said.

"Usually my job comes with emotional labor of having to educate others," Starbard said. "This time ... my job is just to write."

Starbard says something surprising is how much work happens behind the scenes.

Here's a little bit of how the process works: Writers think of a potential story they pitch to a producer. If their pitch is accepted, they work through many rounds of edits. Writers must decide who the characters are, where the story takes place and what informational text will go into an episode. They have to write every word that a character speaks including where they chuckle or show forms of expression.

After a script is approved and "polished," it is sent to directors and animators. "And then I don't see the story again until it airs," Starbard says.

This entire process takes a while. Starbard's first episode took 18 months before it aired. Because the show is in its first season, animators are tasked with creating entire new towns, characters and worlds.

Starbard has written four episodes so far. She says her life experiences inspire her story ideas. When writing "New Nivagi," an 11-minute story that follows "Molly" while she gathers items to make her grandpa's secret ice cream recipe, she says it reflected an experience she knows.

Starbard grew up in Alaska and says she had to be "pretty creative" to make recipes because sometimes it is hard to find ingredients. So she wrote an entire episode where "Molly" does the same.

Producers of the show use other liberties to showcase Alaska's diversity. One of "Molly's" best friends is Tooey Ookami, a 10-year-old boy who is Koyukon, Yup'ik and Japanese. The other is Trini Mumford, a 7-year-old African American girl.

"We wanted to reflect the true diversity of Alaska and the public media," said Johnson. Alaska is home to 229 tribes.

Johnson says it is especially heartwarming to hear about people's reaction to the show.

Johnson remembers being in Anchorage when a young girl's mother approached her to say they recently went to a "Molly" screening. After it was over, her daughter was looking through her closet to find her kuspuk (a hooded shirt with large front pockets) because Molly wore her kuspuk in the show.

Another time Johnson remembers being at a children's museum when a mother said her son was showing interest in his Inupiaq culture because of the show.

"That is the ultimate goal," says Johnson. "It is a joy to see that sort of reaction."

And the reactions are from non-Native people too. Johnson heard a story from a friend's son who watched the show and asked what an ancestor was.

"When I go back to the beginning when I first heard of the show I knew the potential impact that the show could have," said Johnson. She says it has been worth it because of that.

During Halloween, the show released a graphic informing viewers how to dress like "Molly." They were especially cognizant of not telling people to wear her traditional regalia. Instead they encouraged viewers to wear a brown coat and boots, blue jeans and pink mittens. The graphic received traction on social media. It was liked more than a thousand times on Twitter.

Professionally, the opportunity to play a part in the production has opened doors for writers like Starbard. She says she was established in Alaska before "Molly" and now she's considered a national writer.

Starbard said: “This is the definition of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Atlanta • Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. holiday found leaders still wrestling over his contested legacy against the backdrop of a presidential election year.

Republicans told a sometimes cool crowd at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta that they were honoring King's civil rights legacy of service and political empowerment. But Democrats found more favor by highlighting the ways they said the current political and social order calls for more radical action in line with King's principles.

Monday's speeches at King's onetime church were just one slice of the political struggle in Georgia, where Democrats believe they can make further inroads in the Republican controlled state, aided by diverse in-migration and a suburban backlash against President Donald Trump.

Up for re-election this year, Trump sought to stamp his own mark on the commemoration. H e and Vice President Mike Pence made a brief visit to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington. Earlier in the day, Trump sent a tweet noting that it was the third anniversary of his inauguration: "So appropriate that today is also MLK jr DAY. African-American Unemployment is the LOWEST in the history of our Country, by far. Also, best Poverty, Youth, and Employment numbers, ever. Great!"

Black unemployment has reached a record low during the Trump administration, but many economists note economic growth since 2009 has driven hiring. The most dramatic drop in black unemployment came under President Barack Obama. Despite economic success, polls find most African American voters regard Trump with distaste.

In Atlanta, Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, appointed earlier this month by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, said her upbringing on an Illinois farm was touched by King.

"Dr. King's call to service, to sacrifice, to put others first, it shaped our home and inspired us to ask what Dr. King asked the world. 'What are you doing for others?'" Loeffler said.

One of Loeffler's Democratic opponents in a November special election could be the Rev. Raphael Warnock, the current pastor at Ebenezer, which King and his father once led. Warnock, without mentioning Loeffler by name, said that honoring King means more than just voicing "lip service" on one weekend a year.

"Everyone wants to be seen standing where Dr. King stood. That's fine, you're welcome," said Warnock, who could soon announce a Senate run. "But if today you would stand in this holy place, where Dr. King stood, make sure, that come tomorrow, we'll find you standing where Dr. King stood."

Of King, Warnock said that "too many people like to remember him and dismember him at the same time" calling Georgia "ground zero for voter suppression" and citing the failure of the state's Republican leadership to fully expand the Medicaid health insurance program.

Others agreed with him, with keynote speaker Rev. Howard-John Wesley of Alexandria, Virginia, telling attendees that "we have lost the radicality" of King's vision, talking about how King attacked the Vietnam War and the unequal American economy at the end of his career.

Loeffler made no mention of Trump or the Senate impeachment trial, but Democratic U.S. Rep Hank Johnson did, drawing applause when he mentioned impeachment and saying American democracy is "in grave danger."

"Our communities are once again finding themselves on the front lines of fighting to protect our very republic," Johnson said. "And it can be easy, brothers and sisters, in moments like these to despair. But even in our darkest hours, the legacy of Dr. King is a hope that dawn will come."

Georgia's Republican Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger gamely took the stage, seeking to build confidence that his office supports broad voter participation and that the state's new voting machines will guarantee a fair vote. Democrats led by former gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams have attacked his actions.

"Every voter gets one vote. We all have a voice. We all count," Raffensperger said.

King's daughter Bernice spoke about the King holiday becoming a day of service, "a day on, not a day off." She said the holiday needs a broader vision.

"A day on is not enough. What we need is a light on, committed to working vigilantly to build the beloved community," she said. "A light on encompasses a commitment not just to service but to systemic change as well."

The same kind of wrestling over what King means in the present moment was taking place elsewhere, with Pence speaking Sunday at a church service in Memphis, Tennessee.

Pence spoke at the Holy City Church of God in Christ about King's religion and how he "challenged the conscience of a nation to live up to our highest ideals by speaking to our common foundation of faith."

Acknowledging the nation's divisions, Pence said that if Americans rededicate themselves to the ideals that King advanced while striving to open opportunities for everyone, "we'll see our way through these divided times and we'll do our part in our time to form a more perfect union."

As a presidential election looms this fall, divisions rankle, according to recent opinion polls.

Among black Americans, more than 80% said last year that President Donald Trump's actions in office have made things worse for people like them, while only 4% said they thought Trump's actions have been good for African Americans in general. That's according to a poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Associated Press writer Corey Williams in Detroit contributed to this report.

Chinese leaders stretching back to Deng Xiaoping have often thought in terms of decades. A decade encompasses two of China’s famous five-year plans, and it’s a long-enough period to notice real changes in a country’s trajectory.

As it happens, I spent time in China at both ends of the decade that just ended, first in 2010 and again recently. And I was left with one main conclusion: China has just enjoyed a very good decade.

Yes, it still has big problems, including the protests in Hong Kong. But by the standards that matter most to China’s leaders, the country made major gains during the 2010s. Its economy is more diversified. Its scientific community is more advanced, and its surveillance state more powerful. Its position in Asia is stronger. China, in short, has done substantially more to close the gap with the global power that it is chasing — the United States — than seemed likely a decade ago.

Many Americans, of course, understand that China is on the rise and are anxious about it. Yet I also returned from my trip thinking that this American anxiety tends to be misplaced in one crucial way: China is not preordained to supplant or even match the United States as the world’s leading power. China’s challenges are real, not just the protests in Hong Kong but also the dissent in Xinjiang and Tibet, the bloat in its state-run companies and the looming decline in its working-age population.

The No. 1 reason China has made such stark progress in geopolitical terms is that its rival just endured a bad decade by virtually every measure. While China takes more steps forward than backward, the United States is moving slowly in reverse.

Incomes, wealth and life expectancy in the United States have stagnated for much of the population, contributing to an angry national mood and exacerbating political divisions. The result is a semidysfunctional government that is eroding many of the country’s largest advantages over China. The United States is skimping on the investments like education, science and infrastructure that helped make it the world’s great power. It is also forfeiting the soft power that has been a core part of American pre-eminence.

President Donald Trump plays a telling role here. More so than his predecessors, he has been willing to treat China as the strategic threat that it is. Yet he is confronting it so ham-handedly as to strengthen China.

Instead of building a coalition to manage its rise — including the Asian nations in China’s shadow — Trump is alienating allies. Instead of celebrating democracy as an alternative to Chinese authoritarianism, he is denigrating the rule of law at home and cozying up to dictators abroad. Trump, as Keyu Jin, a Chinese economist at the London School of Economics, says, is “a strategic gift” for China.

The recent trade spat is an example. The Trump administration was right to take a tougher line. But after imposing unilateral sanctions, Trump then accepted a truce that did not do much to address the core problems, like China’s corporate subsidies.

The current version of the United States doesn’t seem to know quite what it is — global democratic leader or parochial self-protector — and the confusion benefits China. After the Trump administration this year asked 61 countries to bar Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications company, the response was embarrassing: Only three have done so. President Emmanuel Macron of France now argues that Europe should position itself as a third global power between the United States and China, rather than what it has been — an American ally.

There is an unending debate among China experts about whether the country is weak or strong. The answer is that’s it’s both. But its direction is clear. China continues to become stronger.

The maturing of the economy felt particularly striking to me as I compared my two visits. Although growth has slowed, from about 10% a year at the decade’s start to less than 7% now, part of that slowdown was inevitable, as the country became less poor. The encouraging news for China is that, as Neil Shen, the founding partner of the venture capital firm Sequoia Capital China, says, “the quality of the growth has been much improved.”

When I talked with Chinese leaders and business executives in 2010, they spent a lot of time lamenting two problems — a lack of innovative companies and a low level of consumer spending. I didn’t hear those laments this time.

Today, China is home to perhaps the world’s hottest social media app, TikTok, which is more popular than Facebook among American teenagers, according to a recent survey. Other innovators are likely to follow because China’s digital economy now has some advantages that not even the American version does.

Instead of being fragmented among dozens of apps — one for Starbucks, others for Amazon and airlines and so on — much of Chinese commerce happens within one of two digital networks — WeChat Pay and Alipay. People open one app and can pay for almost anything, in stores or online. The simplicity encourages further retail innovations, and Facebook and Google are trying to mimic this model. It feels like the future of commerce.

It’s also part of a larger advance in China’s consumer economy. Consumer spending now accounts for about 39% of China’s GDP, up from a low of 35% in 2010. The word “consumerism” may have negative connotations in the United States, where such spending accounts for about 68% of GDP, but it means something quite different in recently poor countries. It signifies a shift away from an economy dominated by sustenance farming and smokestacks and toward the comforts of modern life.

One of my stops was Nanjing, China’s 12th-largest city, best known to outsiders as the site of a civilian massacre by Japanese troops in the 1930s. That history makes the city a symbol of the humiliations China suffered for much of the 20th century. Those humiliations continue to shape pop culture; a remarkable share of contemporary television shows cast the Japanese military as villains.

More quietly, though, Nanjing embodies the growth of a middle-class consumer culture. The city’s subway system opened only 14 years ago and now transports 1 billion riders a year. It’s clean and bustling, and the trips I took each cost either 2 or 3 yuan (about 28 cents or 42 cents). Nationwide, almost 30 other cities have opened subways since Nanjing did, giving China the world’s largest subway ridership.

Nanjing is also one of the stops on the high-speed train line that opened between Shanghai and Beijing in 2011. Nanjing is roughly as far from Beijing as New York is from Cincinnati, and the express train takes less than four hours.

This infrastructure makes all kinds of economic activity easier — commuting to work, taking vacations or simply going shopping. On a recent Saturday night at Nanjing’s seven-story Deji Plaza mall, the restaurants were packed, as were the aisles at Uniqlo, even at 9 p.m.

Beyond the economy, China has also made stark progress in other areas over the past decade. It is close to becoming the world’s leading funder of scientific research and development, thanks to soaring increases in China and meager ones in the United States. The quality of American science remains higher, but the gap has narrowed.

China’s military has also become stronger. China is now the largest trading partner not only of Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia but also of Australia, Brazil and South Africa. And startup companies have become dynamic enough to lure a growing number of Chinese graduates of American universities to return home, Matthew Slaughter, the dean of Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business, told me — shortly after he had attended an alumni event in Beijing.

Increasingly, this trade brings cultural and political sway. Just look at the National Basketball Association’s awkward attempts to placate China after a Houston Rockets executive dared to post a Twitter message (quickly deleted) expressing support for Hong Kong protesters. NBA officials understood, as many other corporate executives do, that Beijing effectively holds veto power over their plans for growth.

China’s leaders, in turn, have started shedding the humility that had characterized much of their foreign policy since Deng. At a recent conference I attended on the outskirts of Beijing, with Bill Gates, Henry Kissinger, Henry Paulson and many American officials and executives, the swagger of the Chinese officials was notable. Some of the Americans delivered blunt criticism of China’s economic policy. Chinese officials largely ignored the complaints.

“We Chinese people know very well what we have, what we want and what it takes,” Wang Qishan, China’s vice president, told the conference, the New Economy Forum. “We have the confidence, patience and resolve to realize our goal of great national rejuvenation.”

China has now exceeded the world’s expectations for three decades in a row — which, of course, does not guarantee that the streak will continue in this new decade.

China still has a long way to go. Its foreign policy will be made more difficult by the growing wariness of China’s power in other countries. Its economy will have to cope with debts from its building boom, and President Xi Jinping’s support for politically obedient — but often inefficient — state-managed companies isn’t helping. The sharp decline in the working-age population over the next quarter-century, thanks to the old one-child policy, will probably present China’s biggest challenge since the 1989 democracy movement.

A decade from now, I can easily imagine China as an even stronger rival to the United States — dominating its Pacific realm and leading a loose global coalition of authoritarian states — or as a weaker one, struggling to manage internal dissent and tensions with its Asian neighbors. But the United States should feel some urgency about the possibility of the first scenario.

On my last day in Beijing, I visited the Forbidden City, the complex of old imperial palaces, which Xi has ordered spruced up, in part to remind people that a powerful China is the historical norm. To make sense of the trip, I sat down in a courtyard and looked back at two lists that I had made during my 2010 visit.

One summarized the steps that China needed to take in the years ahead to become stronger — increasing consumer spending, strengthening its scientific sector, becoming more innovative and so on. The other listed the steps the United States should take to stay strong — like reducing inequality and investing more in the future. The contrast, between progress and stagnation, was clear. I think the rational conclusion is to be worried about the future of American power.

David Leonhardt is an Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times.

Washington • Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday proposed a condensed, two-day calendar for each side to give opening arguments in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, ground rules that are raising objections from Democrats on the eve of the landmark proceedings.

The Republican leader outlined the process in a four-page resolution that will be voted on as one of the first orders of business when senators convene Tuesday. It also pushes off any votes on witnesses until later in the process, rather than up front, as Democrats demanded.

After the four days of opening arguments — two days per side — senators will be allowed up to 16 hours for questions to the prosecution and defense, followed by four hours of debate. Only then will there be votes on calling other witnesses.

McConnell has been angling for a speedy trial toward acquittal of the charges against the president, and the closely held rules package arrived Monday after Trump's legal team asserted in a legal brief that he did "absolutely nothing wrong," urging the Senate to swiftly reject the "flimsy" and rigged impeachment case against him.

The brief from Trump's lawyers, filed ahead of opening arguments, offers the most detailed look at the lines of defense they intend to use against Democratic efforts to convict the president and oust him from office over his dealings with Ukraine. It is meant as a counter to a filing two days ago from House Democrats that summarized weeks of testimony from more than a dozen witnesses in laying out the impeachment case.

"All of this is a dangerous perversion of the Constitution that the Senate should swiftly and roundly condemn," the lawyers wrote. "The articles should be rejected and the president should immediately be acquitted."

The 110-page brief from the White House, plus the House Democratic response, come as the Senate is considering 12-hour opening sessions for the rare trial taking place in an election year, with some of the very senators running to replace Trump as president sitting as jurors.

The White House filing shifted the tone toward a more legal response but still echoed with campaign-style slogans. It hinged on Trump's assertion he did nothing wrong and did not commit a crime — even though impeachment does not depend on a material violation of law but rather on the more vague definition of "other high crimes and misdemeanors" as established in the Constitution.

With security tightening at the Capitol, the House prosecutors made their way through crowds of tourists in the Rotunda to tour the Senate chamber. The White House legal team led by Pat Cipollone and Jay Sekulow soon followed, both sides under instructions to keep the chamber doors closed to onlookers and the media. Four TV monitors were set up inside to show testimony, exhibits and potentially tweets or other social media, according to a person familiar with the matter but unauthorized to discuss it who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Senators are poised for only the third trial of its kind in U.S. history, but first they must contend with a rules fight and whether to allow new witnesses. On the eve of the trial, the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had yet to reveal the proposal.

The GOP leader is expected to propose a condensed schedule for opening arguments with two 12-hour days for each side, the person said.Democrats warned that such a plan would almost certainly push the proceedings into hours when Americans may not be watching. The White House legal team said Monday it supports whatever package McConnell puts forward.

In their own filing Monday, House prosecutors replied to Trump's not-guilty plea by making fresh demands for a fair trial in the Senate.

"President Trump asserts that his impeachment is a partisan 'hoax.' He is wrong," the prosecutors wrote.

The House Democrats led by Chairman Adam Schiff of the Intelligence Committee said the president can't have it both ways -- rejecting the facts of the House case but also stonewalling congressional subpoenas for witnesses and testimony. "Senators must honor their own oaths by holding a fair trial with all relevant evidence," they wrote.

The White House document released Monday says the two articles of impeachment brought against the president — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — don't amount to impeachable offenses. It asserts that the impeachment inquiry, centered on Trump's request that Ukraine's president open an investigation into Democratic rival Joe Biden, was never about finding the truth.

The impeachment case accuses Trump of abusing power by withholding military aid from Ukraine at the same time that he was seeking an investigation into Biden, and of obstructing Congress by instructing administration officials not to appear for testimony or provide documents, defying congressional subpoenas.

In a brief filed earlier, House Democrats called Trump's conduct the "worst nightmare" of the framers of the Constitution.

"President Donald J. Trump used his official powers to pressure a foreign government to interfere in a United States election for his personal political gain," the House prosecutors wrote, "and then attempted to cover up his scheme by obstructing Congress's investigation into his misconduct."

But Trump's team contended Monday that even if Trump were to have abused his power in withholding the Ukraine military assistance, it would not be impeachable because it did not violate a specific criminal statute.

The president's team issued several opinions from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel to back up its claims and support its position that it had not illegally defied Congress.

One OLC opinion said the House investigation was not formally opened until after some subpoenas were issued, making the demands legally unenforceable, while two others said that senior advisers of the president were immune from being forced to testify in part because they handled national security matters.

Opening arguments are expected within days following a debate Tuesday over rules, including about whether witnesses are to be called in the trial.

Trump signaled his opposition to witnesses, tweeting Monday: "They didn't want John Bolton and others in the House. They were in too much of a rush. Now they want them all in the Senate. Not supposed to be that way!"

That's a reference to former national security adviser John Bolton. House Democrats wanted him to testify but chose not to pursue a subpoena and risk an extended struggle in court. But Bolton has since said he is willing to testify in the Senate if subpoenaed.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has outlined demands for documents and testimony, including from Bolton, and promised to put senators on the spot with votes to ensure they are called.

"We are going to demand votes – yes or no, up or down – on the four witnesses we've requested and on the three sets of documents we've requested," Schumer told reporters over the weekend.

The White House brief argues that the articles of impeachment passed by the House are "structurally deficient" because they charge multiple acts, creating "a menu of options" as possible grounds for conviction.

While the Senate, with a 53-47 Republican majority is not at all expected to mount the two-thirds voted needed for conviction, the president's lawyers go so far as to suggest such an outcome would be an "unconstitutional conviction" because of the overly broad articles of impeachment from the House.

The Trump team claims that the Constitution requires that senators agree "on the specific basis for conviction" and that there is no way to ensure that the senators agree on which acts are worthy of removal, because a single count contains multiple allegations.

Administration officials have argued that similar imprecision applied to the perjury case in the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton, who was acquitted by the Senate.

The Trump lawyers accused Democrats of diluting the standards for impeachment, an argument that echoed the case made Sunday by one of Trump's attorneys, Alan Dershowitz, who contended in talk shows that impeachable offenses must be "criminal-like conduct."

That assertion has been rejected by scholars, and Schiff called it an "absurdist position."

The White House also suggests the House inquiry was lacking because it failed to investigate Biden or his son Hunter, who served on the board of a gas company in Ukraine while his father was vice president. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by either Biden.

Associated Press writer Laurie Kellman contributed to this report.

The relationship between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the NAACP has evolved from “acquaintance to friend” and from “linking arms to locking arms,” a church apostle told a packed ballroom on the day set aside to honor civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.

“This could not have happened without vision," said apostle Gary E. Stevenson, the keynote speaker Monday at the annual NAACP luncheon at Little America in downtown Salt Lake City, which attracted about 400 attendees.

He began by reviewing the two groups’ history, including his church’s involvement with the historic black activist organization.

In May 2018, LDS Church President Russell M. Nelson and NAACP President Derrick Johnson issued a joint statement calling on the world to “demonstrate greater civility, racial and ethnic harmony, and mutual respect” while eliminating “prejudice of all kinds.”

The pair agreed to work on joint projects, involving education, employability and self-reliance, Stevenson said.

Representatives of the two groups continued to meet, culminating last summer in Nelson being invited to address the national meeting of the NAACP in Detroit.

“We truly believe that we are brothers and sisters — all part of the same divine family," Nelson said at the convention. "We strive to build bridges of cooperation rather than walls of segregation."

Stevenson reiterated that commitment at Monday’s gathering, urging his listeners to “be your brother’s keeper, to foster civility (in actions, not just words), and to emulate Christlike love (which includes empathy and compassion).”

The Latter-day Saint apostle ended his remarks by pointing to a verse in the Utah-based church’s signature scripture, the Book of Mormon, which describes the human family: “black and white, bond and free, male and female; … all are alike unto God.”

Before Stevenson offered his prepared remarks, he described a recent problem with an Latter-day Saint Sunday school manual, laid out in Saturday’s Salt Lake Tribune.

The apostle acknowledged that the 2020 “Come, Follow Me” manual for use by everyone in the 16.3 million-member church for this year’s study of the Book of Mormon, “includes a paragraph with some outdated commentary on race.”

It was “mistakenly included in the printed version of the manual, which had been prepared for print nearly two years ago,” Stevenson said at the lunch. “When it was brought to the attention of church leaders late last year, they directed it be immediately removed in our annual online manual, which is used by the great majority of our members."

The church’s top officials also “have directed that any future printed manuals will reflect this change,” he said. “We are asking members to disregard the paragraph in the printed manual.”

Stevenson said he was “deeply saddened and hurt by this error, and for any pain that it may have caused our members or others.”

The church “condemn[s] all racism past and present in any form,” the apostle said, “and we disavow any theory that advances that black skin or dark skin is the sign of a curse.”

The annual lunch also honored Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera, the state’s first female sheriff, as this year’s recipient of the Rosa Parks Award.

The award honors the courage of the woman who challenged racial segregation on buses in Montgomery, Ala., in 1955.

Jeanetta Williams, president of the NAACP Salt Lake Branch, said Rivera “exemplifies the vision to move forward with justice and peace.”

Her work in law enforcement and other areas, Williams said, “has made positive changes in our society and with our citizens.”

Rivera was overwhelmed and honored by the award, she said in her acceptance, especially given her admiration for Rosa Parks, who shares her first name.

“When I was 14 years old, I had my first experience with discrimination,” Rivera, who is Hispanic, said from the podium. “My father told me not to feel sorry for myself.”

If you don’t like it, the wise dad told his teenage daughter, change it.

“So I did,” she said.

Civil rights and social justice remain big issues, Rivera said. “We need to engage the younger generation. We can’t do it by ourselves.”

A Twitter List by sltribsports

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is one of the most notable days on the NBA calendar, with 14 games scattered throughout the day. Players wear special MLK shirts during warmups; this year, they bear the quote “We Cannot Walk Alone” from King’s “I Have A Dream” speech.

The Jazz also held a workshop and basketball clinic at Vivint Arena early Monday, for seventh- and eighth-grade students. Participants in the workshop received tickets for the game later against the Pacers.

Guard Donovan Mitchell also wore a special edition of his Don Issue No. 1 sneakers for the game, honoring the Tuskegee Airmen, an African-American group of fighter pilots who saw action in World War II. Their last flight was in 1945 — No. 45 is also Mitchell’s jersey number.

“These are for Martin Luther King Day. These are actually a tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen. Their last flight was in 1945. I happen to wear 45. I’ll be wearing these tonight. It’s pretty special to me.” pic.twitter.com/jcmTzuWIsX

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 20, 2020

“It’s pretty special to me,” Mitchell said.

Royce O’Neale’s list

Jazz coach Quin Snyder really values the versatility he gets from Royce O’Neale, the wing who signed a four-year, $36 million extension on Sunday. In fact, he put a list of players O’Neale has had to guard on a board about a month ago, showing his team exactly what O’Neale does for them.

“It was right down the line. Just pick someone from the All-Star game upcoming and Royce probably had to guard them," Snyder said.

O’Neale earned those assignments pretty quickly, after being signed as the 15th man in the summer of 2017.

“We were in Washington,” Snyder remembered, “and he was gaining everyone’s trust by being so committed and good defensively. That’s how he got out on the floor. He was smart in that regard.”

“The best thing that you can say about Royce is that he helps your team win games. It’s rare to have a guy that selfless ... to truly not care about anything but winning.”

More details on O’Neale’s contract were reported on Monday. According to The Athletic’s John Hollinger, O’Neale has a partially guaranteed fourth year of his contract: Only $2.5 million is guaranteed in 2023-24. Between now and then, he’ll earn $8.5M in 2020-21, $8.8M in 2021-22, $9.2M in 2022-23, and a possible $9.5M in 2023-24.

That’s a good deal for the Jazz, giving them more flexibility down the road if need be, while still keeping one of their best role players. O’Neale’s final guaranteed year at $9.2M represents only 7 percent of an estimated $131 million cap in 2022-23.

I spend a lot of time with ex-Mormons these days, and they tend as a group to be rather cynical about the corporate machinations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I’ve heard them spout the line “Follow the money” whenever we discuss anything about church policies or even doctrine, and there are times when I agree with them.

Strangely, when it comes to the Ensign Peak Advisors investment fund of more than $100 billion, I don’t think it’s about the money. I think it’s about loyalty. Stick with me here for a bit.

It appears that since the 1990s, the LDS Church has channeled excess tithing money into a range of investments that are now worth over $100 billion, a tax-exempt treasure that is just sitting idle and making more money.

The idea that this much money is “a rainy day fund” is a bit fatuous in my opinion. In my mind a “rainy day fund” is one that might be enough money to cover the finances of the church for a year or two in the case of a massive financial downturn or even a full-on depression. Let’s say it’s for five years, even. If the annual operating expenses of the global church are around $6 billion (according to The Washington Post report), it appears this fund would be a rainy day fund for many years, if the stock market completely failed and the money wasn’t earning any interest, which doesn’t seem to be a real possibility even in worst-case scenarios.

The idea that the church is saving $100 billion for the Second Coming of Christ seems even sillier to me. What does it mean to save money for the Second Coming? Is the money for Christ to use, the Savior who threw the money lenders out of the temple and told us to render unto Caesar what was Caesar’s and unto God what was God’s? Surely He wouldn’t need money once he comes. So, is the money to get the church through Armageddon? I know there are some pretty scary scenarios out there with Gog and Magog, but I haven’t heard church President Russell M. Nelson talk much about apocalyptic scenarios except perhaps in a physical sense. What happened to individual members keeping a year’s supply of food in case of an emergency? Has the church decided this massive fund is to keep us all in wheat and oil?

One hundred billion dollars and counting? That’s both excellent money management and a Depression-era level of stinginess. One thing I will say is that this scandal has made me see the LDS Church relative to other church financial scandals as a bit of a nonstarter. Latter-day Saint leaders are well-compensated (see here), but they aren’t living high on the hog. They’re not using members’ tithing money to go on lavish trips or throw big parties for themselves (no, I’m not counting Nelson’s 95th birthday party as this, either). Nor are they buying yachts, drinking expensive alcohol, or spending money on upscale suits and ties (although Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s are very fine and I wish he’d start giving advice to the other apostles on fashion, but that is another article entirely).

In the end, it seems clear that whatever Latter-day Saint leaders care about, it’s not getting money for themselves so they can enjoy a party life at age eighty and above. This isn’t about greed and maybe isn’t even about power. When people complain about Nelson asking members in Africa to pay tithing when the church has $100 billion, I really don’t think it’s because the church wants those “pennies.” There’s something deeper going on. The repeated calls for tithing are about increasing loyalty in new members, especially when it would be easy for those new members to simply slide back out of the fold. Asking those in poverty to give pennies to the church does little to increase that $100 billion fund, but it does make those members more invested in the church’s future. It’s a funny thing about human nature that demonstrating loyalty to an institution is the best way to boost loyalty to that institution.

When I was attending church regularly, I remember being told that the best way to build your testimony was to bear it, which in the Mormon tradition means to proclaim it out loud. And it was true, in a way. Bearing your testimony in front of other people was a great way to increase your loyalty to the institution. Why? Because it increased your investment, and that increased your likelihood to continue to invest. You could call this an outgrowth of the well-known phenomenon of the sunk-cost fallacy, where people continue to invest in stock that they’ve already lost money in because they don’t want to admit they’ve lost money. So instead of changing course, they double down. Or you could simply say that it makes people value what they’ve sacrificed for more than they would have otherwise.

Many of the things the church does are about loyalty more than about money. Leaders want members to invest time, money, energy, and to sacrifice many things — not just money — to the church because the end result is that it makes them more devoted to it. I’m not at all convinced that this is done nefariously. A lot of the church’s strategies are based on other corporate or religious organizations’ successful methods of building community and membership. But when I look at many different things the church asks its members to do, it feels to me that they are building loyalty rather than a stockpile of cash.

Asking us to clean the church building ourselves on Saturday mornings, rather than hiring a janitor like other religious groups do? This expectation was never about money. It was about sacrifice. It was about feeling ownership in the church building and changing our behavior while we’re in it.

Assigning us unpaid callings that require, in the case of some local leaders like bishops and Relief Society presidents, enough hours per week that it’s like having another job? This kind of lay leadership is also about sacrifice. The church now has plenty of money to pay for clergy if it chose to, but maintaining a lay leadership increases devotion. It gives everyone a stake in the success of ward projects. It also helps members to grow spiritually as we face difficulties or even bad mistakes, our own or others’, which in turn increases our likelihood to see the church as the instrument of our growth and development.

Missions are about sacrifice, which makes them the No. 1 way to increase the likelihood of retaining the loyalty of the young adults who choose to serve.

Seminary, youth programs, stake camps, trek, on and on. Personal sacrifice is the point of all of these programs. It makes those who participate want to stay more.

I’m not trying to excuse the church’s massive nest egg here, just pointing out a reality of what I see happening. Which is that it’s not about the money, stupid. It’s about loyalty.

The views expressed in this opinion piece do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.

Here are the 118 titles selected to screen at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, running Jan. 23-Feb. 2 in Park City and at venues in Salt Lake City and the Sundance resort in Provo Canyon.Competition categories are followed by lower-budget Next films, premieres, offbeat Midnight selections, Spotlight favorites from the past year and kids’ movies.

U.S. Dramatic Competition

“Blast Beat” • When their family leaves Colombia for the United States in 1999, a metalhead science prodigy (Moises Arias, from “Five Feet Apart”) and his little brother (Mateo Arias) try to adapt to their new home. Director Esteban Arango co-wrote the script with Erick Castrillon. The cast includes Daniel Dae Kim, Kali Uchis, Diane Guerrero and Wilmer Valderrama.

“Charm City Kings” • 14-year-old Mouse (Jahi Di’Allo Winston) is eager to join an infamous group of Baltimore dirt-bike riders, but when their leader (played by the rapper Meek Mill) takes Mouse under his wing, the boy must choose between the lawful path or a road of fast money and violence. Also stars Will Catlett, Teyonah Parris, Donielle Tremaine Hansley and Kezii Curtis. Directed by Angel Manuel Soto with screenplay by Sherman Payne (“Moonlight” director Barry Jenkins shares story credit with two other writers), based on the documentary “12 O’Clock Boys.”

“Dinner in America” • A punk rocker on the lam (Kyle Gallner) and a young woman (Emily Skeggs) obsessed with his band end up on an epic journey through the dying suburbs of the Midwest, in this drama written and directed by Adam Rehmeier. Also starring Pat Healy, Griffin Gluck, Lea Thompson and Mary Jane Rajskub.

“The Evening Hour” • Director Braden King (“Here,” SFF ’11) and screenwriter Elizabeth Palmore adapt Carter Sickels’ novel, set in Appalachia. It centers on Cole Freeman (Philip Ettinger), who cares for the old and infirm while selling their leftover painkillers to local addicts — a situation upended when an old friend (Cosmo Jarvis) returns. The cast includes Stacy Martin, Michael Trotter, Kerry Bishé and Lili Taylor.

“Farewell Amor” • Walter (Ntare Guma Mbabo Mwine), an Angolan immigrant in the United States, has a strained reunion with his wife (Zainab Jah) and daughter (Jayme Lawson) after 17 years apart — but they discover a shared love of dance that may bridge the emotional gap. Written and directed by Ekwa Msangi; the cast includes Joie Lee, Marcus Scribner and Nana Mensah.

“The 40-Year-Old Version” • Director/writer Radha Blank stars in this comedy, as a struggling New York playwright who decides, at age 40, to reinvent herself as a rapper. Also stars Peter Kim and hip-hop star Oswin Benjamin. Screenwriter Lena Waithe (“Queen & Slim”) is among the producers.

“Minari” • A Korean American man (Steven Yeun) uproots his family to run a farm in rural Arkansas in the 1980s, in this drama written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung. Also starring Han Yeri, Youn Yuh Jung, Will Patton, Alan Kim and Noel Kate Cho.

“Miss Juneteenth” • Channing Godfrey Peoples directed and wrote this story of Turquoise (Nicole Beharie), a former beauty queen who gets her teen daughter (newcomer Alexis Chikaeze) ready for the Miss Juneteenth pageant — the same crown Turquoise once wore. Also starring Kendrick Sampson, Lori Hayes and Marcus Maudlin.

“Never Rarely Sometimes Always” • Autumn (Sidney Flanagan) and her cousin Skylar (Talia Ryder) travel from rural Pennsylvania to New York City when one of them is faced with an unintended pregnancy, in this drama written and directed by Eliza Hittman (“Beach Rats,” SFF ’17). Also starring Théodore Pellerin, Ryan Eggold and Sharon Van Etten.

“Nine Days” • Winston Duke (“Us”) stars as a man in an isolated house interviewing souls who are seeking the privilege to be born. Zazie Beets (“Deadpool 2”), Bill Skarsgård (“It”), Benedict Wong (“Doctor Strange”), Tony Hale (“Veep”) and David Rysdahl co-star. Writer-director Edson Oda developed the script at the Sundance Institute’s lab program, and filmed the movie in Utah. The movie also received a Dolby Institute fellowship.

“Palm Springs” • In this comedy, directed by Max Barbakow and written by Andy Siara, a carefree guy (Andy Samberg) and a reluctant maid of honor (Cristin Milioti) have a chance encounter — but things get complicated the next morning, when the two can’t escape the venue, themselves or each other. Also starring J.K. Simmons, Meredith Hagner, Camila Mendes and Peter Gallagher. Samberg and his Lonely Island bandmates, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, are among the producers.

“Save Yourselves!” • Earth is under attack, but a young Brooklyn couple (Sunita Mani and John Reynolds) didn’t hear about it — because they went upstate to disconnect from their phones and connect with each other. Alex Fischer and Eleanor Wilson wrote and directed this comedy, which co-stars Ben Sinclair, Johanna Day, John Early and Gary Clark.

“Shirley” • Elisabeth Moss plays the title role, novelist Shirley Jackson, who in 1964, with her professor husband, Stanley Hyman (Michael Stuhlbarg), welcomes a young couple (Odessa Young, Logan Lerman) into their home. But is the couple becoming psycho-drama fuel for Jackson’s next novel? Directed by Josephine Decker (“Madeline’s Madeline,” SFF ’18) and written by Sarah Gubbins (who created the 2016 series “I Love Dick,” SFF ’16), based on Susan Scarf Merrell’s novel.

“Sylvie’s Love” • Tessa Thompson (“Thor: Ragnarok”) stars as an aspiring TV producer who runs into an old flame, a musician (former NFL star Nnamdi Asomugha), in a romance written and directed by Eugene Ashe. Also starring Eva Longoria, Aja Naomi King, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Jemima Kirke.

“Wander Darkly” • New parents (Sienna Miller, Diego Luna) must navigate the aftermath of a devastating car crash, in this drama written and directed by Tara Miele. Also starring Beth Grant, Aimee Carrero, Tory Kittles and Vanessa Bayer.

“Zola” • Director Janicza Bravo (“Lemon,” SFF ’17), who co-wrote with Jeremy O. Harris, tells the story of a stripper (Taylor Paige) whose Twitter-described road trip to Florida with a new friend (Riley Keough) quickly goes to hell. Also starring Nicholas Braun and Colman Domingo.

U.S. Documentary Competition

“Be Water” • (United States/United Kingdom) Bao Nguyen directs this profile of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, who left Hollywood in 1971 dejected, but returned to his parents’ homeland of Hong Kong and made four films that changed the movies forever. The documentary combines rare archival interviews with Lee’s loved ones and his own writings.

“Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets” • Directing brothers Bill and Turner Ross (“Western,” SFF ’15) tell the story of The Roaring 20s, a Las Vegas dive bar facing its last call.

“Boys State” • Directors Jesse Moss (“The Overnighters,” SFF ’14) and Amanda McBaine chronicle the efforts of a thousand Texas 17-year-old boys as they try to build a representative government from scratch.

“Code for Bias” • (United States/United Kingdom/China) What happened when Joy Buolamwini, a researcher at MIT’s Media Lab, discovered that facial recognition doesn’t see dark-skinned faces accurately — leading to Buolamwini pushing for legislation to battle bias in the algorithms on which everyone relies. Directed by Shalini Kantayya.

“The Cost of Silence” • Director Mark Manning (“The Road to Fallujah,” Slamdance ’09) profiles an oil-industry insider who exposes the details of the Deepwater Horizon spill, and the systemic corruption to keep victims of a public health disaster quiet — just as the Trump administration works to open the entire U.S. coastline to offshore drilling.

“Crip Camp” • A summer camp for disabled teens, just down the road from Woodstock, transforms young lives and sparks a movement in the early 1970s. Directed by Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht. (The movie is a Day One entry, screening on the festival’s opening night.)

“Dick Johnson Is Dead” • Director and veteran cinematographer Kirsten Johnson (“Cameraperson,” SFF ’16) relies on movie magic and her family’s dark humor to create a portrait of her father, age 86, that will keep him alive forever.

“Feels Good Man” • Arthur Jones directs this profile of artist Matt Furie, as he tries to reclaim the comic character he created, Pepe the Frog, from being a popular symbol of white nationalism.

“The Fight” • Deep inside the ACLU, as filmmakers follow the determined lawyers taking on the Trump administration’s assault on civil liberties. Elyse Steinberg and Josh Kriegman, the team behind “Weiner” (SFF ’16), team with Eli Despres to direct this documentary.

“Mucho Mucho Amor” • Directors Cristina Costantini (“Science Fair,” SFF ’18) and Kareem Tabsch profile Walter Mercado, who went from poverty in Puerto Rico to become a world-famous astrologer and gender-nonconforming star in a cape. (Mercado died Nov. 2, at the age of 87.)

“Spaceship Earth” • A look back at Biosphere 2, a 1991 experiment in which eight counterculture visionaries built a replica of Earth’s ecosystem and tried to live inside it, facing ecological problems and cult accusations. Directed by Matt Wolf.

“A Thousand Cuts” • (United States/Philippines) Director Ramona S. Diaz (“Imelda,” SFF ’04; “Motherland,” SFF ’17) continues her examination of life in the Philippines, this time digging into the authoritarian regime of President Rodrigo Duterte — seen through the work of embattled journalist Maria Ressa.

“Time” • Filmed over 20 years, director Garrett Bradley’s documentary profiles Fox Rich, trying to keep her family together while fighting for the release of her incarcerated husband.

“Us Kids” • Kim A. Snyder, who directed “Newtown” (SFF ’16), profiles another group of students forever altered by gun violence: The kids at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., who sparked a youth movement to take back democracy.

“Welcome to Chechnya” • An investigation follows activists who confront a deadly anti-LGBTQ campaign in the repressive Russian republic. Directed by David France (“How to Survive a Plague,” SFF ’12; “The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson,” SFF ’17). UPDATE, Dec. 12, 2019: HBO picked up North American TV and streaming rights, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“Whirlybird” • A profile of Zoey Tur, who revolutionized aerial journalism over Los Angeles with then-wife Marika in the 1980s and 1990s — including being the first to broadcast O.J. Simpson’s slow speed chase in 1994. Director Matt Yoka also details how Tur, whose daughter is MSNBC host Katy Tur, came out as transgender in 2013.

World Cinema Dramatic Competition

“Charter” • (Sweden) Alice (Ane Dahl Torp), separated from her kids and awaiting a custody verdict after a messy divorce, gets a middle-of-the-night call from her son. Alice then jumps into action, abducting her kids and taking them on a charter trip to the Canary Islands. Written and directed by Amanda Kernell (“Sami Blood,” SFF ’17), the movie also stars Troy Lundkvist, Tintin Poggats Sarri, Sverrir Gudnasson, Eva Melander and Siv Erixon.

“Cuties” • (France) 11-year-old Amy (Fathia Youssouf) meets a group of dancers, called “Cuties,” and becomes fascinated by their sensual moves as a way to escape her dysfunctional family. Written and directed by Maïmouna Doucouré, the movie also stars Médina El Aidi-Azouni, Esther Gohourou, Ilanah Cami-Goursolas, Myriam Hamma and Maïmouna Gueye. (The movie is a Day One entry, screening on the festival’s opening night.)

“Exil” • (Germany/Belgium/Kosovo) A chemical engineer (Misel Maticevic), far from home, plunges into an identity crisis when he’s bullied and discriminated against at work. Directed and written by Visar Morina, the movie also stars Sandra Hüller.

“High Tide” • (Argentina) In writer-director Verónica Chen’s drama, Laura (Gloria Carrá) seduces the contractor in charge of building her backyard barbecue shed — and then must deal with an increasingly invasive crew. Also starring Jorge Sesán, Cristian Salguero, Mariana Chaud, Camila Fabbri and Héctor Bordoni.

“Jumbo” • (France/Luxembourg/Belgium) Shy Jeanne (Noémie Merlant) works in an amusement park, where she’s fascinated with the carousels, when she meets the park’s new attraction. Written and directed by Zoé Wittock, the movie also stars Emmanuelle Bercot and Sam Louwyck.

“Luxor” • (Egypt/United Kingdom) Andrea Riseborough stars as Hana, a British aid worker who returns to Luxor, crossing paths with Sultan (Karim Saleh), an archaeologist and her onetime lover. Written and directed by Zeina Durra (“The Imperialists Are Still Alive!,” SFF ’10), the movie also stars Michael Landes, Sherine Reda, Salima Ikram and Shahira Fahmy.

“Possessor” • (Canada/United Kingdom) Andrea Riseborough, again, stars as Tasya Vox, an assassin who uses brain-implant technology to inhabit other people’s bodies to carry out killings — a plan that goes awry when she finds herself trapped in another man (Christopher Abbott) whose identity could obliterate her own. Brandon Cronenberg, son of legendary director David Cronenberg, directed and wrote this sci-fi thriller, which co-stars Rossif Sutherland, Tuppence Middleton, Sean Bean and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

“Sin Señas Particulares (Non-Distinguishing Features)” • (Mexico/Spain) A woman (Mercedes Hernández) looks for her son, who has gone missing, on her way to the U.S./Mexico border, and meets a man (David Illescas) recently deported from the United States and hoping to see his mother again. Director Fernanda Valadez co-wrote the script with Astrid Rondero. Also starring Juan Jesús Varela, Ana Laura Rodríguez, Laura Elena Ibarra and Xicoténcatl Ulloa.

“Summer White (Blanco de Verano)” • (Mexico) A teen (Adrián Rossi) grows jealous and increasingly violent when his mother (Sophie Alexander-Katz) gets a new boyfriend (Fabián Corres). Director Rodrigo Ruiz Patterson co-wrote the script with Raúl Sebastián Quintanilla.

“Surge” • (United Kingdom) Ben Whishaw stars as a man on “a bold and reckless journey of self-liberation,” starting by robbing a bank. Aneil Karia directed; Rupert Jones and Rita Kalnejais co-wrote the screenplay. Also starring Ellie Haddington, Ian Gelder and Jasmine Jobson.

“This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection” • (Lesotho/South Africa/Italy) An 80-year-old widow (Mary Twala Mhlongo), facing her village’s forced resettlement because of a reservoir’s rising waters, becomes a legend when she ignites the spirit of resilience in her community. Directed and written by Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese, the movie also stars Jerry Mofokeng Wa Makheta, Makhoala Ndebele, Tseko Monaheng and Siphiwe Nzima.

“Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness” • (Iran/France/Germany/Switzerland) Maryam (Sadaf Asgari) is sentenced to death for accidentally killing her husband, and the only person who can save her is the man’s daughter, Mona (Behnaz Jafari), by forgiving Maryam on a live TV show. But things don’t go as planned, in this drama written and directed by Massoud Bakhshi. Also starring Babak Karim, Fereshteh Sadr Orafaee, Forough Ghajebeglou and Fereshteh Hosseini.

World Cinema Documentary Competition

“Acasa, My Home” • (Romania/Germany/Finland) Director Radu Ciorniciuc, who co-wrote with Lina Vdovii, follows a family who has lived for 20 years in the Bucharest Delta, an abandoned water reservoir where wildlife has developed in the shadow of the city. But when bulldozers destroy their home, the family must deal suddenly with city life.

“The Earth Is Blue as an Orange” • (Ukraine/Lithuania) Director Irina Tsilyk follows a single mom, Anna, and her four children as they cope with the daily trauma of living in a war zone in Donbas, Ukraine, by making a film together about life in surreal surroundings.

“Epicentro” • (Austrian/France/United States) Director-writer Hubert Sauper (“We Come as Friends,” SFF ’14) looks at Cuba, a time capsule of history since Christopher Columbus first landed there, which has become both romantic vision and cautionary tale.

“Influence” • (South Africa/Canada) Director-writers Diana Neill and Richard Poplak examine the “democracy industrial complex,” how communication has become weaponized worldwide, focusing on the notorious (and now defunct) public relations firm Bell Pottinger.

“Into the Deep” • (Denmark) Director Emma Sullivan focuses on the 2017 murder of Swedish journalist Kim Wall by inventor Peter Madsen aboard his homemade submarine — seen through Madsen’s helpers, as they prepare to testify and deal with their own complicity.

“The Mole Agent” • (Chile) A family hires a private investigator to look into their mother’s treatment in a retirement home. The detective hires Sergio, an 83-year-old man, to become a resident in the home, and Sergio struggles to balance his assignment with his involvement in the other residents’ lives. Directed and written by Maite Alberdi.

“Once Upon a Time in Venezuela” • (Venezuela/United Kingdom/Brazil/Austria) The once-thriving fishing village of Congo Mirador, on Lake Maracaibo, is falling apart — a metaphor for Venezuela itself in director Anabel Rodriguez Rios’ documentary.

“The Painter and the Thief” • (Norway) When a drug addict steals an artist’s paintings, the artist responds by befriending him — and becoming his closest ally when he is hurt in a car crash and needs full-time care. But, as director Benjamin Ree’s synopsis says, “then the tables turn.”

“The Reason I Jump” • (United Kingdom) Director Jerry Rothwell (“How to Change the World,” SFF ’15) adapts Naoki Higashida’s book, following the lives of nonspeaking autistic people around the world.

“Saudi Runaway” • (Switzerland) Director-writer Susanne Regina Meures follows the plight of Amjad, a young Saudi woman who decides to escape when faced with an arranged marriage and a life without rights.

“Softie” • (Kenya) When photojournalist and activist Boniface Mwangi considers running for political office in Kenya, he faces a difficult decision: Choose his wife, Njeri, and their three young children, or choose his country. Sam Soko directed and wrote the film, which was supported by Sundance Institute’s Luminate Fund.

“The Truffle Hunters” • (Italy/United States/Greece) Old men and their dogs hunt in secret forests of northern Italy for the world’s most expensive ingredient: the white Alba truffle. Directed by Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw, who co-wrote “The Last Race” (SFF ’18), which Dweck directed.

Next

“Beast Beast” • Writer-director Danny Madden weaves together the stories of three teens in a southern town, as they deal with identity, first love, petty crime and gun violence. The cast includes Shirley Chen, Will Madden, Jose Angeles, Courtney Dietz and Daniel Rashid.

“Black Bear” • Aubrey Plaza stars as a filmmaker who retreats to a remote lake house to reignite her creativity, but finds the woods summoning her inner demons as she encounters a young couple (Christopher Abbott and Sarah Gadon). Written and directed by Lawrence Michael Levine.

“I Carry You With Me” • (United States/Mexico) Documentarian Heidi Ewing, who co-directed “12th & Delaware” (SFF’ 10), “Detropia” (SFF ’12), and “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You” (SFF ’16), makes her narrative debut with this decades-spanning love story about an aspiring chef (Armando Espitia) who leaves his boyfriend (Christian Vázquez) in Mexico to cross the border into the United States. Ewing co-wrote the script to this fact-based story with Alan Page Arriaga. Also starring Michelle Rodriguez, Ángeles Cruz, Arcelia Ramírez and Michelle González.

“The Killing of Two Lovers” • Robert Machoian, an associate professor of design at Brigham Young University who won a Sundance directing award for his 2019 short “The Minors,” wrote and directed this filmed-in-Utah drama that stars Clayne Crawford as a man trying to hold his family together while being separated from his wife (Sepideh Moafi) — and struggling with her new relationship. Also starring Chris Coy, Aver Pizzuto and the director’s children, Arri Graham and Ezra Graham.

“La Leyenda Negra” • A Salvadoran teen girl (Monica Betancourt) in Compton, on the verge of being listed as undocumented, risks her family, friendships and first love as she fights for her right to stay in America. Written and directed by Patricia Vidal Delgado, as her MFA project at UCLA. Also starring Kailei Lopez, Irlanda Moreno, Justin Avila, Sammy Flores and Juan Reynoso.

“The Mountains Are a Dream That Call to Me” • In writer-director Cedric Cheung-Lau’s drama, a Nepali man (Sanjay Lama Dong) is all set for a new life as a laborer in Dubai, until an Australian woman (Alice Cummins) causes him to look at his homeland in a new light.

“Omniboat: A Fast Boat Fantasia” • Fifteen writer-directors — including The Daniels (“Swiss Army Man,” SFF ’16), Hannah Fidell (“A Teacher,” SFF ’13; “The Long Dumb Road,” SFF ’18), Terence Nance (“An Oversimplification of Her Beauty,” SFF ’12), and Dylan Redford (grandson of Robert Redford) — collaborate on this film about a speedboat in Miami. The cast includes Mei Rodriguez, Finn Wolfhard, Casey Wilson, Adam Devine, Jessica Williams and Robert Redford. The other writer-directors are Alexa Lim Haas, Lucas Leyva, Olivia Lloyd, Jillian Mayer, The Meza Brothers, Brett Potter, Xander Robin, Julian Yuri Rodriguez and Celia Rowlson-Hall.

“Some Kind of Heaven” • Residents of America’s largest retirement community, The Villages in Florida, seek happiness and meaning behind the gates of their palm tree-lined fantasyland, in this documentary by Lance Oppenheim, a 2019 Sundance Ignite fellow.

“Spree” • A rideshare driver (Joe Keery) has a disturbing and deadly plan to go viral — and only a comedian (Sasheer Zamata) can stop the rampage, online and in real life. Director Eugene Kotlyarenko co-wrote the script with Gene McHugh. Also starring David Arquette, Kyle Mooney, Mischa Barton and Josh Ovalle.

“Summertime” • Nineteen members of the L.A. poets collective Get Lit wrote and perform this love letter to the City of Angels, capturing 25 lives colliding in the summer heat. Directed by Carlos Lopez Estrada (“Blindspotting,” SFF ’18), co-written by the poets and Dave Harris.(The movie is a Day One entry, screening on the festival’s opening night.)

Premieres

“Downhill” • A family man (Will Ferrell) must confront his failings, and his feelings for his wife (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and kids, when an avalanche nearly hits them during a ski vacation, in this remake of the 2014 Swedish film “Force Majeure.” Also starring Zach Woods, Zoë Chao and Miranda Otto. The directing team of Jim Rash and Nat Faxon (“The Way, Way Back,” SFF ’13) co-wrote with Jesse Armstrong.

“Dream Horse” • (United Kingdom) Toni Collette plays a Welsh bartender and cleaner who buys a racehorse — and, with the support of her neighbors, trains the horse to challenge the racing elite for the national championship. Also starring Damien Lewis. Director Euros Lyn (a veteran of “Doctor Who” and “Torchwood”) and screenwriter Neil McKay retell this true story, first chronicled in the 2015 documentary “Dark Horse.”

“Falling” • (Canada/United Kingdom/Denmark) Actor Viggo Mortensen makes his writing and directing debut, with the story of a conservative 80-year-old farmer (Lance Henriksen) traveling to Los Angeles to stay with his gay son (played by Mortensen) and his family. Also starring Terry Chen, Sverrir Gudnason, Hannah Gross and Laura Linney. (This is the Closing Night film.)

“The Father” • (United Kingdom/France) Anthony Hopkins stars as an 80-year-old Londoner who refuses the nurses his daughter (Olivia Colman) sends to care for him — a situation that grows more urgent when she decides to move to Paris. Director Florian Zeller co-wrote this comedy-drama with Christopher Hampton.

“Four Good Days” • Glenn Close stars as a mother who tries to get her opioid-addicted daughter (Mila Kunis) clean for four days, so she can try a new drug to kick her habit for good. Director Rodrigo Garcia (“Nine Lives,” SFF ’05; “Mother and Child,” SFF ’10; “Last Days in the Desert,” SFF ’15) co-wrote with Eli Saslow. Also starring Stephen Root and Joshua Leonard.

“The Glorias” • Director Julie Taymor, co-writing with Sarah Ruhl, adapts Gloria Steinem’s memoir into a nontraditional biopic of the trailblazing women’s rights advocate. Lulu Wilson, Alicia Vikander and Julianne Moore play Steinem at different ages; the cast also includes Bette Midler, Janelle Monáe, Timothy Hutton and Lorraine Toussaint.

“Herself” • (Ireland/United Kingdom) Clare Dunne, who co-wrote with Malcolm Campbell, stars as a woman who decides to build a home, from scratch, for herself and her two daughters — drawing together a community to help. Phyllida Lloyd (“Mamma Mia!”) directs; the cast includes Harriet Walter and Conleth Hill (Lord Varys from “Game of Thrones”).

“Horse Girl” • Alison Brie stars as a socially awkward woman whose increasingly lucid dreams are trickling into her waking life. Brie co-wrote with the film’s director, Jeff Baena (“Life After Beth,” SFF ’14; “Joshy,” SFF ’16; “The Little Hours,” SFF ’17).

“Ironbark” • (United Kingdom) In this fact-based story, Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Greville Wynne, a British businessman who works with a Soviet officer (Merab Ninidze) to smuggle out the intelligence that defused the Cuban missile crisis. Also starring Rachel Brosnahan and Jessie Buckley. Directed by Dominic Cooke, written by Tom O’Connor.

“Kajillionaire” • Filmmaker Miranda July (“Me and You and Everyone We Know,” SFF ‘05; “The Future,” SFF ’11) returns with this tale of a grifter (Evan Rachel Wood) whose life is upended when her parents (Debra Winger and Richard Jenkins) invite a new player (Gina Rodriguez) into their next heist.

“The Last Shift” • Richard Jenkins stars as an aging fast-food worker who’s about to retire after 38 years — but on his last night, as he trains his replacement (Shane Paul McGhie), the weekend takes an unexpected turn. Written and directed by Andrew Cohn; also starring Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Birgundi Baker, Allison Tolman and Ed O’Neill.

“The Last Thing He Wanted” • Director Dee Rees (“Pariah,” SFF ’11; “Mudbound,” SFF ’17), with co-screenwriter Marco Vallalobos, adapts Joan Didion’s novel about a journalist (Anne Hathaway) who reluctantly fulfills an errand for her father (Willem Dafoe), and is thrust into the story she’s trying to break. Also starring Ben Affleck, Toby Jones and Rosie Perez.

“Lost Girls” • Liz Garbus (who has had six documentaries at Sundance, including “The Execution of Wanda Jean,” SFF ’02, and “What Happened, Miss Simone?”, SFF ’15) makes her narrative directing debut with this story, inspired by true events, of a woman (Amy Ryan) battling police indifference to find her missing daughter, and uncovering evidence of a dozen murdered sex workers. Screenwriter Michael Werwie adapts Robert Kolker’s book. The cast includes Thomasin McKenzie, Lola Kirke, Oona Laurence, Gabriel Byrne and Miriam Shor.

“The Nest” • (United Kingdom/Canada) In this drama by writer-director Sean Durkin (“Martha Marcy May Marlene,” SFF ’11), an entrepreneur (Jude Law) and his wife (Carrie Coon) move to England in the booming ‘80s, and must face some hard truths as things start to unravel. Also starring Charlie Shotwell and Oona Roche.

“Promising Young Woman” • Actor Emerald Fennell (who plays Camilla on “The Crown”) makes her directing and writing debut with this revenge thriller, starring Carey Mulligan as a medical school dropout with a double life. Also starring Bo Burnham, Alison Brie, Connie Britton, Adam Brody and Jennifer Coolidge.

“Sergio” • Documentary filmmaker Greg Barker (“Manhunt: The Inside Story of the Hunt for Bin Laden,” SFF ’13) revisits the subject of his 2009 Sundance documentary: United Nations diplomat Sergio Vieira de Mello (played by Wagner Moura), who risks his life on a mission in the chaos of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Screenplay by Craig Borten. The cast includes Ana de Armas, Garret Dillahunt, Will Dalton, Bradley Whitford and Brian F. O’Byrne.

“Tesla” • Sundace veteran Michael Almereyda (“Nadja,” SFF ’94; “Hamlet,” SFF ’00; “Experimenter,” SFF ’15; “Marjorie Prime,” SFF ’17) returns with this biographical drama of inventor Nikola Tesla (Ethan Hawke), as he worked to create a system of wireless energy. Kyle MacLachlan plays Thomas Edison; the cast also features Eve Hewson, Jim Gaffigan, Hannah Gross and Josh Hamilton. (This is the winner of the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize, given to a movie about science or technology.)

“Uncle Frank” • Director-writer Alan Ball (who wrote “American Beauty”) chronicles a road trip in 1973, with an 18-year-old (Sophie Lillis) and her uncle (Paul Bettany), from Manhattan to a South Carolina town for a funeral for the family patriarch — when they’re unexpectedly joined by Uncle Frank’s lover (Peter Maddissi). Steve Zahn, Judy Greer and Margo Martindale also star.

“Wendy” • Director Benh Zeitlin (“Beasts of the Southern Wild,” SFF ’12), co-writing with his sister Eliza, reimagines the “Peter Pan” story, focusing on Wendy’s fight to protect her siblings, her freedom and the spirit of youth from the perils of growing up. The cast of this ragtag drama includes Devin France, Yashua Mack, Gage Naquin, Gavin Naquin, Ahmad Cage and Krzysztof Meyn. The movie has received a Dolby Institute fellowship.

“Worth” • Michael Keaton plays Kenneth Feinberg, a D.C. lawyer appointed Special Master of the 9/11 Fund, battling cynicism, bureaucracy and politics as he grapples with the ultimate question: What is a life worth? Sara Colangelo (“Little Accidents,” SFF ’14; “The Kindergarten Teacher,” SFF ’18) directs this fact-based story, written by Max Borenstein. The cast includes Stanley Tucci, Amy Ryan, Tate Donovan, Talia Balsam and Laura Benanti.

Documentary Premieres

“Aggie” • Filmmaker Catherine Gund profiles her mother, art collector and philanthropist Agnes Gund, who sold Roy Lichtenstein’s “Masterpiece” in 2017 for $165 million to start the Art for Justice Fund, to end mass incarceration.

“Assassins” • Director Ryan White (“The Case Against 8,” SFF ’14; “Ask Dr. Ruth,” SFF ’19) follows the trial of the two women accused of killing Kim Jong-nam, exiled half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, using nerve agent in the Kuala Lampur airport — but were they trained killers or unwitting pawns?

“Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen” • Director Sam Feder examines how Hollywood has shaped how Americans see transgender people, and how transgender people have been taught to feel about themselves. Among the interview subjects: Laverne Cox, Mj Rodriguez, Lilly Wachowski, Yance Ford, Chaz Bono and Jamie Clayton.

“The Dissident” • Director Bryan Fogel, who ticked off the Russians with the Oscar-winning doping documentary “Icarus” (SFF ’17), is back to anger the Saudis, as he digs into the disappearance of Saudi dissident and Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who went into Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul in October 2018 and was never seen again. Fogel and Mark Monroe co-wrote the film.

“Giving Voice” • Go inside the August Wilson Monologue Competition, in which thousands of high school students enter for a chance to perform on Broadway. Director James D. Stern follows students, looking at how Wilson’s plays speak to a new generation and inspire them to find their own voice.

“The Go-Go’s” • (United States/Ireland/Canada) The members of the L.A. ’80s band — the first all-female rock band who played their own instruments and wrote their own songs to have a No. 1 album — talk candidly about their fast rise to the top. Directed by Alison Ellwood (“History of The Eagles,” SFF ’13) interviews Charlotte Caffey, Belinda Carlisle, Gina Schock, Kathy Valentine and Jane Wiedlin, among others.

“Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren & Stimpy Story” • Filmmakers Ron Cicero and Kimo Easterwood look at the rise and fall of the groundbreaking Nickelodeon cartoon, and its controversial creator, John Kricfalusi.

“Okavango: River of Dreams (Directors Cut)” • (Botswana) The famed nature documentarians Dereck and Beverly Joubert create a love letter to one of the world’s greatest river systems, patterned after Dante’s “Divine Comedy,” exploring the layers of paradise, limbo and inferno.

“Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind” • Director Laurent Bouzereau examines the career and life of the actress Natalie Wood, guided by her daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner (one of the film’s producers), and others close to her. The documentary, bankrolled by HBO, aims to reclaim Wood’s legacy, overshadowed by her tragic death in 1981, at the age of 43.

“Rebuilding Paradise” • Director Ron Howard follows the residents of Paradise, Calif., in the year after the most destructive wildfire in state history laid ruin to the town.

“The Social Dilemma” • Director Jeff Orlowski (“Chasing Ice”, SFF ’12; “Chasing Coral,” SFF ’17) charts the environment in social media, interviewing insiders from Google, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to “reveal how these platforms are reprogramming civilization.” The actors Vincent Kartheiser (“Mad Men”), Skyler Gisondo (“Booksmart”) and Kara Hayward (“Moonlight Kingdom”) appear in the film.

“Taylor Swift: Miss Americana” • A raw portrait of pop icon Taylor Swift, as she embraces her status as a songwriter, as a performer, and as a woman deploying the full power of her voice. Directed by Lana Wilson (“After Tiller,” SFF ’13), backed by Netflix. (The movie is a Day One entry, screening on the festival’s opening night.)

Untitled Kirby Dick/Amy Ziering Film • Dick and Ziering, who have exposed epidemics of sexual assault in the military (“The Invisible War,” SFF ’12) and college campuses (“The Hunting Ground,” SFF ’15), focus this time on the world of hip-hop music.

“Vivos” • (Germany/Mexico) Dissident Chinese artist and filmmaker Ai Weiwei digs into the 2014 attack at Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers’ College in Mexico, which left six dead and 43 disappeared. The film follows the students’ families, in a struggle that has become a symbol of endemic violence in Mexican society.

Midnight

“Amulet” • (United Kingdom) Actress Romola Garai makes her feature debut as writer and director with this horror movie, about a refugee ex-soldier (Alec Secareanu) who is allowed to live in a decaying house where a young woman (Carla Juri) and her dying mother (Imelda Staunton) live. But does something else live there as well?

“Bad Hair” • In this horror satire by writer-director Justin Simien (“Dear White People,” SFF ’14), it’s 1989 and an ambitious young woman (Ella Lorraine) watches her career in music television take off when she gets a new weave — but her hair may have a mind of its own. Also starring Vanessa Williams, Jay Pharoah, Lena Waithe, Blair Underwood and Laverne Cox. (The movie is a Day One entry, screening on the festival’s opening night.)

“His House” • (United Kingdom) A young refugee couple (Wunmi Mosaku, Sope Dirisu) escape war-torn South Sudan, but find life in their new home in an English town under threat by an evil under the surface. Matt Smith also stars in this thriller, written and directed by Remi Weekes.

“Impetigore” • (Indonesia) Maya (Tara Basro) is on the street in a big city, and thinks returning to her home village may net her an inheritance. But the villagers are waiting for her, thinking she has what they need to lift a curse. Written and directed by Joko Anwar, the horror/mystery also stars Marissa Anita, Christine Hakim, Ario Bayu and Asmara Abigail.

“The Night House” • A widow (Rebecca Hall) learns her late husband’s disturbing secrets, in a horror thriller directed by David Bruckner (“The Signal,” SFF ’07), and written by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski. Also starring Sarah Goldberg, Stacy Martin, Evan Jonigkeit and Vondie Curtis-Hall.

“The Nowhere Inn” • Annie Clark, alias St. Vincent, and Carrie Brownstein (of the band Sleater-Kinney and TV’s “Portlandia”) wrote and star in this music-fueled drama. Clark plans to reveal the truth behind her musical persona in a documentary, but when she hires a friend to direct, the idea of reality and identity become distorted and bizarre. Directed by Bill Benz.

“Relic” • (Australia) When an elderly woman (Robyn Nevin) with dementia vanishes, her daughter (Emily Mortimer) and granddaughter (Bella Heathcote) arrive to look for her — but when she suddenly returns, the mystery only grows deeper. Director Natalie Erika James co-wrote with Christian White.

“Run Sweetheart Run” • A woman (Ella Balinska, from “Charlie’s Angels”) tries to get home after a blind date becomes violent, but the guy (Pilou Asbaek, from “Game of Thrones”) won’t stop the pursuit. Written and directed by Shana Feste (“The Greatest,” SFF ’09), the movie also stars Clark Gregg and Shohreh Aghdashloo.

“Scare Me” • Josh Ruben wrote and directed this horror story, about two strangers, Fred (played by Ruben) and Fanny (Aya Cash), telling scary stories during a power outage in a Catskills cabin — but the stories come to life, and Fred fears Fanny is the better storyteller. UPDATE, Dec. 16, 2019: The streaming service Shudder picked up streaming rights to this film in North America, the UK and Ireland, according to a company release.

Spotlight

“And Then We Danced” • (Sweden/Georgia/France) Merab (Levan Gelbakhiani) is a dancer in conservative Tbilisi, training with his partner Mary (Ana Javakhishvili), when a new male dancer (Bachi Valishvili) enters to become his rival and his desire. Written and directed by Levan Akin, the movie debuted at Cannes and is Sweden’s entry in the International Feature Film category for the Academy Awards.

“The Assistant” • Telluride audiences cheered Julia Garner’s lead performance in this drama, as Jane, an assistant to a high-powered executive (Matthew Macfadyen). The narrative debut of writer-director Kitty Green, whose documentary “Casting JonBenet” played Sundance in 2017. Also starring Makenzie Leigh, Kristine Froseth, Jon Orsini and Noah Robbins.

“The Climb” • A friendship between two guys endures over decades, even when Mike (Michael Covino) tells Kyle (Kyle Marvin) he slept with Kyle’s fiancee (Gayle Rankin). Covino directed, and co-wrote with Marvin, expanding a short film of the same name that played Sundance in 2018. The feature — which debuted at Cannes in May, and played Telluride in September — also stars Talia Balsam, George Wendt and Judith Godrèche.

“Collective” • (Romania/Luxembourg) Documentarian Alexander Nana follows investigative journalists as they uncover massive fraud in Romania’s health care system. The film screened at film festivals in Venice and Toronto in September, and makes its U.S. premiere at Sundance.

“Ema” • (Chile) Mariana Di Girolamo plays the title role, a reggaeton dancer who, after an adoption goes awry and upends her marriage to a choreographer (Gael Garcia Bernal), goes on a journey of personal liberation that’s literally on fire. The movie, which played at Venice and Toronto, is directed by Pablo Larraín (“Jackie”), written by Guillermo Calderón and Alejandro Moreno, and also stars Santiago Cabrera.

“La Llorona” • (Guatemala/France) Enrique (Julio Diaz), a retired Guatemala general acquitted of genocide against the Maya people, is haunted by his past victims, guided by a maid (Maria Mercedes Conroy) doling out vengeance. This politically spiced horror thriller, which screened in Venice and Toronto, is written and directed by Jayro Bustamante, and co-stars Sabrina De La Hoz, Margarita Kénefic, Juan Pablo Olyslager and Ayla-Elea Hurtado. UPDATE, Dec. 16, 2019: The streaming service Shudder picked up streaming rights to this film in North America, the UK and Ireland, according to a company release.

“The Perfect Candidate” • (Germany/Saudi Arabia) Haifaa al-Mansour, often billed as Saudi Arabia’s first female filmmaker, directs this drama about another trailblazer, a young doctor (Mila Al Zahrani) who becomes the first woman to run for office in her town. Al-Mansour wrote the screenplay with her American husband, Brad Niemann; the film also stars Dhay, Khalid Abdulrahim and Shafi Al Harthy. This is Saudi Arabia’s entry in the International Feature Film category for the Academy Awards, as was al-Mansour’s “Wadjda” in 2012. (The movie is a Day One entry, screening on the festival’s opening night.)

Kids

“Binti” • (Belgium) Binti (Bebel Tshiani Baloji) is a Congo-born 12-year-old in Belgium who dreams of being a vlogger like her idol, Tatyana Beloy (who appears as herself). Instead, she and her father (played by her real father, the Belgian rapper Baloji) must flee when police raid their home, seeking to deport them. Binti forms a plan with her friend, Elias (Mo Bakker), that will let them stay in the country, in writer-director Frederike Migom’s family drama, which also stars Joke Devynck, Caroline Stas and Noa Jacobs.

“Come Away” • (United Kingdom/United States) A prequel of sorts to both “Peter Pan” and “Alice in Wonderland” that imagines Peter (Jordan A. Nash) and Alice (Keira Chansa) as siblings working to rescue their parents after their brother dies in an accident — but being forced to choose between home and imagination. Directed by Brenda Chapman (who co-directed “Brave” and “The Prince of Egypt”) and written by Marissa Kate Goodhill, the fantasy stars Angelina Jolie, David Oyelowo, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Reece Yates and Michael Caine.

“Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made” • Hapless Timmy Failure (Winslow Fegley) and his partner, a 1,500-pound polar bear named Total, operate Total Failure Inc., a detective agency in Portland, Ore., in this adaptation of the children’s book series by Stephan Pastis (who also draws the “Pearls Before Swine” comic strip). The movie — which will stream starting Feb. 7 on Disney+ — is directed by Tom McCarthy (“Spotlight”), who co-wrote the script with Pastis. The cast includes Ophelia Lovibond, Wallace Shawn, Craig Robinson and Kyle Bornheimer.

From the Collection

“Born Into Brothels” • This 2004 documentary follows photographer Zana Briski, who co-directed with Ross Kauffman, as she ventures into Calcutta’s red-light district to teach the children of the sex workers who live there. By teaching photography, Briski helps the kids express themselves and describe their world — and, maybe, offer them an escape from a cycle of poverty and exploitation. The Oscar-winning documentary counts Utah Film Center founder Geralyn White Dreyfous as its executive producer.

“High Art” • This 1998 Sundance entry stars Radha Mitchell as a young magazine editor who meets a neighbor, Lucy (Ally Sheedy), an enigmatic photographer, and the two begin a tempestuous romance, interrupted by Lucy’s former flame, Greta (Patricia Clarkson). Directed and written by Lisa Cholodenko, who went on to direct “The Kids Are All Right” and the miniseries “Olive Kitteridge,” the movie also stars Tammy Grimes, Gabriel Mann and Bill Sage.

It’s been one year since the last residents of a small Salt Lake City community known as “Hobbitville” left behind their eclectic neighborhood, which faced an uncertain future after the death of its owner and landlord.

In the months since, nearby Sugar House residents have watched guardedly to see what would come next for Allen Park, located across the street from Westminster College on 1300 East in a prime location for real estate development.

On Jan. 13, they got their first taste of the possible changes to come at a community input meeting with the team that’s expected to develop the approximately 7-acre site. But amid concerns about traffic, insufficient parking and the loss of mature trees, neighbors aren’t yet sold on the proposal, which calls for approximately 60 single and multifamily units.

“Many of us are questioning what your plan is,” Salt Lake City resident Anne Cannon told developers during a two-hour meeting hosted by the Sugar House Community Council, during which nearly every resident who spoke raised dissent. Once the buildings are constructed “in this very precious corridor within the city,” she said, it will “never be restored.”

The proposed dwellings equate to about 7.5 units per acre overall and would range in size from 1,000 square feet to about 2,500 square feet, the development team said. The site’s zoning allows for even greater density than that, but developer Rinaldo Hunt said the team wants to build for the “missing middle,” referring to a spectrum of multidwelling or clustered housing types that are usually aimed at meeting demand for a more pedestrian-oriented style of city living.

“We feel that this specific rendition … is appropriate to keep the feel, the look and the overall flair of what Allen Park is today,” he told neighbors at the meeting.

The developer declined to talk to The Salt Lake Tribune about the proposal he presented Jan. 13, noting that he would have more details in a few weeks. The meeting with residents, he said, was simply an effort to receive feedback and get the community involved in the process.

At the meeting, he and other members of the development team stressed that their plans are preliminary and noted that the property hasn’t officially sold — though he said they expect to close the deal in a “relatively short amount of time.”

Allen Park was established as a bird sanctuary in the 1930s by George Allen, a surgeon who served as president of the Sugar House Businessmen’s League and the Salt Lake Zoological Society. He also was instrumental in the development of Hogle Zoo and Tracy Aviary.

Until recently, the area served as a private refuge for residents from a growing city — though they often had to contend with groups of high school and college students who would drive through on the weekends, honking their horns and occasionally damaging property as they looked for the dwarfs rumored to live in the area that gave the community its nickname.

Last January, the tenants were ordered to leave after it became a cost and liability to continue housing them, given the neighborhood’s crumbling state and expenses to fix it that far outpaced rental revenue.

As the development team prepares to give the site a new life, it faces several challenges in construction — including a riparian corridor that takes up approximately half the developable land area, steep hills on the east end of the property and neighbors who are exhausted by the rapid addition of high-density development in their community.

The developer also has historic preservation to consider. The site contains 30 examples of artwork, including mosaic tiles and decorative concrete elements; 16 buildings, some dating back to the 1930s; multiple fountains and a family swimming pool; 18 pillars, some with mosaic panels, others that offer directions and some that have their own lighting systems; and 14 structures, including bird cages and an arch, according to preservation project consultant Kirk Huffaker, former executive director of Preservation Utah.

The development team was hesitant to make any promises at the meeting about what could be preserved with new construction but said it would save as much as possible and noted opportunities to renovate some of the existing elements into livable units.

There’s a particular interest, Huffaker said, in saving the main log cabin house, which is in decent condition but would likely still need a “complete renovation from the ground up.”

But as they face the loss of a substantial amount of green space that for years has existed virtually in their backyards, some residents said that didn’t feel like enough.

“You talked a little about Dr. Allen and [saving] the structures but that was never Dr. Allen’s legacy,” said Sugar House resident Jen Greyson, who lives on nearby Downington Avenue. “He was the zoo. He was the aviary. He was nature. And you’re talking about placating us by keeping three structures? That wasn’t Dr. Allen’s legacy. His legacy was the nature that’s in there.”

Residents also voiced concerns about increased traffic as a result of the development and inadequate parking within the site plans. They already often fight with students from Westminster College for parking near their homes and worry the addition of 60 units with one-car garages each would make that even worse.

The development team said it planned to conduct a traffic study and would ensure adequate guest parking as part of the proposal. It also promised to take into consideration concerns about the loss of mature trees and bird habitat as well as public access to Emigration Creek, which runs through the property.

“Fifty percent of the entire site will more or less be a community asset, an avian type point of interest or sanctuary, in keeping with the original spirit and beauty of what Allen Park was in 1931 and what that original vision was based on,” Hunt told neighbors, referring to the nondevelopable riparian area. “So just keep that in mind as you’re talking about parts of the whole.”

In that spirit, Hunt noted that he’s in talks with Tracy Aviary to conduct a bird survey at the site and with Salt Lake City to possibly connect Allen Park to a broader walking trail.

Tim Brown, president and CEO of Tracy Aviary, said the organization doesn’t have a formal relationship or agreement with the developer but confirmed those discussions have taken place.

Ideally, he said, Allen Park would be preserved as open space. But “if it’s going to get developed, the next best option is that it gets developed in a way that preserves as much habitat as possible,” he said.

“The developer, I think, has an opportunity to do something truly unique by preserving that in a bird refuge kind of way and taking action that would support that,” Brown continued. “So we’ll see, but we’re optimistic.”

Three thoughts on the Utah Jazz’s 118-88 win over the Indiana Pacers from Salt Lake Tribune Jazz beat writer Andy Larsen.

1. Jazz make right read even against good Pacers D

I thought the Pacers played pretty good defense tonight. They forced 21 turnovers, and Myles Turner especially was a force in the middle, getting six steals. The Jazz had real problems passing it in pick and roll with Turner playing defense on Gobert.

And yet: the Jazz had a 121 ORtg, and won by 30. How?

First, when they did pass it successfully, they did a good job recognizing where the help was coming from. The Pacers were packing the paint a little bit, trying to prevent the Jazz from getting easy stuff at the rim. In particular, they helped more from the top than most teams would, trying to create that visual effect of a lack of space even more. But here, Conley sees that very quickly and makes a great quick read to Clarkson.

The Jazz also were terrific tonight in getting offensive rebounds and putbacks. They had 22 second-chance points tonight, and both Tony Bradley and Rudy Gobert attacked the glass. That they had success is a little surprising given the Pacers’ size, but both of the Jazz’s centers won their individual matchups.

Finally, the Jazz got out on breaks of their own. While they forced only 14 turnovers, they scored 25 points off of those, more than the 16 points the Pacers got off of the Jazz’s 21 turnovers. Watch Donovan Mitchell run here as soon as he knows the rebound is secure.

Certainly, some of this was helped by the fact that the Pacers were playing the dreaded Denver-Utah back-to-back: a tired team is less likely to fight for boards and get back in transition. The Jazz took advantage to be sure, though.

2. Jazz’s play perfect math defense

What are the most efficient shots in basketball? Dunks, free-throws, layups, and threes, in that order.

The Pacers had one dunk tonight, and it was a run-away in transition.

The Jazz only sent the Pacers to the line for seven free-throws tonight. One was a defensive three seconds, and one was a technical foul on Donovan Mitchell for taunting. The Pacers made only three of the free-throws. It is tied for the lowest number of free throws any team has made in any game this season.

They only made 14 of their 24 layups. 24 attempts at the rim is 16th percentile in the NBA this year, and shooting just 60% from there is 37th percentile.

The Pacers only shot 26 threes, which is 11th percentile. They only made 7, for 26.9%. That’s 19th percentile.

If you win the math game that badly, you’re almost definitely going to win the actual game. Like, the Pacers were actually quite good at the mid-range tonight, making 40% of their shots from 4 feet to the 3-point line, and it just didn’t get their offense anywhere close to being good enough. They would have lost if they shot 70% from midrange.

But that’s what the Jazz’s defense does. Rudy Gobert locks down the paint, the Jazz’s perimeter players prevent 3-point shots because drives aren’t catastrophic, and they get rebounds off of the mid-range stuff. And they rarely foul, because Snyder teaches them to show their hands to officials and Gobert begs them not to foul because he’s likely behind their defenders to block the shot.

Understandably, defenses try to bring Gobert out of the paint, but the Jazz have had good counters to that so far. First, Bojan Bogdanovic and Royce O’Neale have shown the ability to guard bigger guys; tonight, Bogey defended Myles Turner and didn’t run into any problems all night. But even when the offense does get a switch, Gobert’s gotten too good on the perimeter for it to trouble the Jazz.

Again: Indiana was tired. Less willing to do the hard yards, less willing to get all the way to the rim. But when the Jazz get these results in terms of opponent shot selection, they’re excellent.

3. Different pick and roll passes for different players

The Jazz have a lot of different pick and roll options, more than most teams. All of Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles, Bojan Bogdanovic, Jordan Clarkson, Mike Conley, and Emmanuel Mudiay are capable of running pick and roll with quality roll men like Rudy Gobert and Tony Bradley.

But within that construct, it’s really interesting how they use the screens so differently. This isn’t just on pick and roll passes, but this assist table shows who different Jazzmen find on their assists. (The number in parentheses is how many points were scored on those assists.)

Some notes:

• Joe Ingles finds Rudy Gobert on a higher percentage of his passes than any other ballhandler.
• Donovan Mitchell finds Bojan Bogdanovic most frequently, sometimes in the corner, and sometimes on that 1-3 screen play when Bogey peels off on the perimeter.
• Gobert also finds Bogdanovic frequently, maybe after offensive rebounds or after short rolls.
• Bogdanovic isn’t a great passer, but actually swings it to Royce O’Neale for the highest number of his assists.

A few weeks ago, I asked Quin Snyder about whether or not Mitchell could learn anything from Ingles in the pick and roll. His answer was essentially “no,” that Mitchell, as a 6-1 guard, can’t do the things that Ingles can do at 6-8. Ingles can use his body to make space, and finish with that left hand at the rim. His height allows him to more easily get Gobert on the lob. Meanwhile, Mitchell’s vision is more outward, that’s where he can physically see.

That doesn’t mean both can’t be efficient pick and roll players. Both, in fact, are above average at the play, per Synergy Sports. They just are doing it in different ways.

I live in Virginia and because of this, I would like to talk to all Utahns for a moment. The Virginia Republican Party canceled their presidential primary because they would rather protect the president than have a fair fight. I was looking forward to casting my ballot in the Republican primary. I am unable to vote for the person I want, but you are.

Whether you vote for the president or one of his opponents, please exercise your right to vote because it’s guaranteed by your state. Utah may be one of the most conservative states, but it is also one of the most independent-minded states. I implore you to vote, not for me, but because you have the right and privilege to.

Alex Culp, Mechanicsville, Va.

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Regarding Beverley Cooper’s letter in Sunday’s Tribune: I am a Wasatch Speaker Series subscriber and have been all three seasons. It is made perfectly clear there is no obligation to keep your tickets. In fact, it is my understanding there is quite a waitlist for tickets. Simply don’t subscribe if you disagree with the choice of speakers enough to write a letter to the editor.

Additionally, should you object to a specific speaker you are free to not come, or offer your seats to the box office for someone else to use. They specifically ask for unused tickets so they can be offered to local high school students.

If you actually expect other people not to attend because you object to a specific speaker, I can’t help your naïveté. I truly appreciate the Wasatch Speaker Series for the diversity of speakers and their sincere attempt to bring speakers of interest.

Kay Quealy, Millcreek

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So, it’s fine if the general public is persistently pounded by the suggestive marketing of products that boost male ability to impregnate females, but it’s not OK to humorously market products that will help men and women to reduce the risks of venereal disease and unintended pregnancy. Until contraceptives are promoted with the same vigorous intensity that erectile dysfunction remedies are advertised, the governor’s decision to prohibit the distribution of cleverly packaged condoms appears to be duplicitous, sexist, and a waste of taxpayer money. This decision demonstrates a profound lack of concern and respect for youth who are also being denied appropriate education about human sexuality and reproduction. It also bolsters Utah’s reputation as a regressive theocracy with climbing rates of sexually transmitted infections.

Beverly Hurwitz, Park City

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I recently read the article “Utah kid forced to clean his forehead on Ash Wednesday gets promise from Trump” and was, once again, smacked in the face with hypocrisy. There stood a Utah student who was wronged by a clueless public school teacher. That wrong was swiftly corrected and the teacher, hopefully, educated about Ash Wednesday. That boy was standing next to a totally immoral man who just happens to be called the president of the United States. Why? Why would anyone want a young, impressionable boy to think anything that guy in the White House says or does is admirable? Trump is a proven liar, a proven abuser of women, an impeached president on trial for abusing his office. And then, there was the quote from his grandmother, who said it “was ‘breathtaking’ to be so close to the president, whom she said her family ‘loved’ and supported.” Again, how can a person who espouses the teachings of Jesus Christ “love and support” this man? Mind boggling.

Becky W. Gledhill, Salt Lake City

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In recent days both this newspaper and The Wall Street Journal have carried reports on one of the most important geopolitical facts of the 21st century: The world’s great rising power, the People’s Republic of China, is headed for a demographic crisis.

Like the United States and most developed countries, China has a birthrate that is well below replacement level. Unlike most developed countries, China is growing old without first having grown rich.

Of course China has grown richer: My colleague David Leonhardt, who spent time in China at the beginning and the end of the 2010s, just wrote a column emphasizing the “maturing” of the Chinese economy over that period, the growth of startups, and consumer spending and the middle class.

But even after years of growth, Chinese per capita gross domestic product is still about one-third or one-fourth the size of neighboring countries like South Korea and Japan. And yet its birthrate has converged with the rich world much more quickly and completely — which has two interrelated implications, both of them grim.

First, China will have to pay for the care of a vast elderly population without the resources available to richer societies facing the same challenge. Second, China’s future growth prospects will dim with every year of below-replacement birthrates because low fertility creates a self-reinforcing cycle in which a less youthful society loses dynamism and growth, which reduces economic support for would-be parents, which reduces birthrates, which reduces growth …

The Times’ report on China’s birthrates also reminds us that this trap is cultural, quoting a young Chinese woman who remarks of her one-child-policy-shaped generation, “We are all only children, and to be honest, a little selfish … How can I raise a child when I’m still a child myself?” This is the glib explication of a real problem: Having kids, inevitably one of the harder things that humans do, feels harder still in a society where children are invisible, siblings absent, and large families rare; where there aren’t ready exemplars or forms of solidarity for people contemplating parenthood.

In all this, what China is experiencing is part of the common demographic decadence of the developed world, which is enveloping developing countries too. As Lyman Stone writes in the latest National Review, the human race is increasingly facing a “global fertility crisis,” not just a European or American or Japanese baby bust. It’s a crisis that threatens ever-slower growth in the best case; in the worst case, to cite a recent paper by Stanford economist Charles Jones, it risks “an Empty Planet result: knowledge and living standards stagnate for a population that gradually vanishes.”

(An aside to answer a predictable objection: Yes, in an age of stagnation, CO2 levels won’t grow as fast, delaying some of climate change’s effects — but at the same time, a stagnant society will struggle to innovate enough to escape the climate crisis permanently. And yes, an empty planet wouldn’t have a climate change problem at all, but if that’s your goal, your misanthropy is terminal.)

Within this general, global story, though, the Chinese case is also distinctive because cruel policy choices made its demographic problems worse.

For these choices — the one-child policy and the forced abortions, sterilizations and infanticide the policy either required or encouraged — the Communist regime bears a heavy burden of guilt. And the guilt continues to build because even with the one-child policy gone, the regime’s repression still effectively suppresses birthrates. As Stone noted recently on Twitter, by targeting minority and religious populations, Beijing is attacking the country’s more fecund groups in what amounts to a statement that if Han birthrates have fallen, minority birthrates must be cut to match.

But alongside that Communist guilt, there is Western guilt as well because the one-child policy was linked to a project hatched by Western technocrats, funded by Western institutions and egged on by Western intellectuals — a classist, sexist, racist, anti-religious program that sought to defuse a “population bomb” that, we know now, would have defused itself without forced sterilization programs in India and signs in Chinese villages saying “You can beat it out! You can make it fall out! You can abort it! But you cannot give birth to it!”

That last quote comes from Mara Hvistendahl’s gripping “Unnatural Selection,” one of two books I recommend reading on the subject; the other is Matthew Connelly’s “Fatal Misconception.” Both are mostly retrospective: The Western effort died away as the population bomb fizzled, and while its Malthusianism endures around the edges of environmentalism and in European anxieties about African migration, mostly the population control crusade is recalled as a mistaken extrapolation, a well-meaning mistake.

But the news from China is a reminder that a harsher sort of memory is appropriate. As we contemplate the demographic challenge of the future, we should reserve particular opprobrium for those who chose, in the arrogance of their supposed humanitarianism, to use coercive and foul means to make the great problem of the 21st century worse.

Ross Douthat is an Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times.

The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office has dropped sexual assault charges against two former employees of the Utah technology firm Domo, a case in which prosecutors asked whether there was a hostile work environment at the company.

The two men had been accused of raping a third Domo worker in 2016 at a Salt Lake City party attended by other employees. The woman also contended she was sexually harassed at work in the months leading to the party but did not report to the company because she had heard it ignored other complaints.

The charges were filed after she left Domo and later reported the alleged rape to police. A judge determined there was enough evidence to proceed to a trial, which was scheduled for this month. On Jan. 9, though, prosecutors asked a judge to dismiss the cases “in the interest of justice.” While the filing did not elaborate, that reason often is cited when prosecutors decide they cannot prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Domo spokeswoman Julie Kehoe did not answer questions from The Salt Lake Tribune but issued the following statement:

“Domo is committed to an inclusive environment where employees are safe, respected and empowered to do their best work. We take any claim to the contrary seriously.”

The prosecution had sought to bolster its cases by obtaining human resources records from Domo, including testimony about its work culture. But court entries show Domo didn’t provide all those documents or at least didn’t want them to become part of the public record.

Why the business software company objected isn’t in the public record. Domo successfully petitioned the judge to classify its filings as private, sealing them from public view.

The judge also agreed to block public access to portions of the audio recording made of proceedings that had been held in an open courtroom. The court recording obtained by The Tribune has a 90-minute gap; evidence from Domo had been discussed during that time.

There’s also a notation on the court docket referencing a “State Investigation of Domo, Inc.” with no elaboration.

Prosecutors “were presented with additional evidence that weakened the case and our ability to meet our burden,” Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill wrote in an email to The Tribune. He declined to answer other questions, citing prosecutor ethics and the judge’s rulings making so many issues private.

The Tribune is not naming the two suspects since the charges were dismissed.

Two people who worked at Domo confirmed that an investigator from Gill’s office contacted them asking questions about sexual harassment at the company. The Tribune agreed not to identify the two workers, who said they still have ties to Utah’s technology industry and fear retaliation.

Former employee Jay Biederman wrote on his Facebook page that sexual harassment was taking place at Domo in 2015 and 2016. The company called that suggestion false and sued him in June 2016 in state court in Salt Lake City for violating the terms of his separation agreement by disclosing defamatory and negative information about Domo. Both sides agreed to dismiss the lawsuit in 2017.

Competing views

Domo, based in American Fork, had 761 employees as of Jan. 31, of which 634 worked in the United States, according to the company’s annual report. The vast majority of those employees work in Utah.

The company has garnered a reputation as one of Utah’s best employers and received honors in The Tribune’s “Top Workplaces” survey in 2016. In that anonymous survey, employees praised the company as a “great” place with a challenging and rewarding climate surrounded by helpful and hardworking co-workers.

“I truly feel like Domo cares about me as a person and that makes me want to give it my all,” wrote one employee. “If I ever have a concern, I can address it and it will be properly recognized.”

Another said the tech firm’s bosses “take care of their employees and go above and beyond to make sure that we enjoy working here.”

The Governor’s Office of Economic Development has regularly promoted Domo as an example of what the state’s tech sector, often called Silicon Slopes, can achieve.

But at a hearing for the sex assault cases last January, the alleged victim testified that Domo had an internal reputation of not handling sexual harassment complaints well.

“[The] head of human resources,” the woman testified, “ … was not someone who was very friendly to other women, and her office was not a place known to be helpful or welcoming to anyone who had a sexual harassment complaint.”

“Had you heard that from other people?” Deputy Salt Lake County District Attorney Andrew Deesing asked her, according to the transcript.

“Yes. I've heard that from other employees who were at Domo, while they worked there. I’ve had other colleagues — I moved on to other, another company — and talked to former Domo employees who have told me stories about experiences that they have had that were similar as well.”

The Tribune generally does not name people who say they were victims of sexual assault. The woman declined to comment on the cases when contacted by The Tribune. Matthew Kober, an attorney who has represented her, said he had not been involved in the criminal case. He also declined to comment.

Court documents describe events at Domo months before the party where the woman was allegedly raped. One of the suspects was both an employee at Domo and the son of a top company executive.

The woman testified that within a month of her starting at Domo in March 2015, the son pressured her into telling people she was his girlfriend. They began spending time together outside work.

“My fear at the time,” the woman testified, “was that if I did not agree to pursue a relationship with him, that I could lose my job.”

He visited the room where she worked so often that her supervisor had conversations with her, with the suspect and the suspect’s supervisor about the issue, the woman testified.

“He would threaten me all the time if, if I didn't do what he wanted,” the woman said on the witness stand, “or if I misbehaved in front of certain individuals at the company, that I would lose my job. And I’d seen things like that happen.

“I had seen other people at the company, um, who weren't wanted there any longer, that would very quietly disappear.”

The second suspect made comments to the woman and the first suspect about wanting to sleep with her, the woman testified, and would walk past her in the office and make references to his genitalia being the size of a Red Bull can. She said she wasn’t interested in the second man.

The woman testified that the second suspect was friends with one of Domo’s top executives. The first suspect told her to be careful what she said and did around the second suspect because of those executive connections, she said.

‘You’re going to have sex’

The party happened in March 2016, according to court records, at a residence in downtown Salt Lake City belonging to a fourth Domo employee. The woman testified she — and others at the party — drank heavily at the first suspect’s urging.

The woman needed to go to the bathroom and said she was so drunk she crawled on her hands and knees to climb the stairs. When she came out of the bathroom, she said, the two suspects were there.

The first suspect “said to me, ‘You’re going to have sex with [the second suspect],’” the woman testified. “‘He wants to have sex with you.’ And I said no, no, no, no, no, no, no.”

She tried to go downstairs, but the first suspect took her by the arm and passed her to the second man, she testified. The first man stood watch, she testified, while the second man took her into a spare bedroom and raped her.

“I tried to pull here and there,” she said on the witness stand, “but I was very incapacitated.”

Utah’s criminal code says if a person knows that someone is “incapable of understanding or resisting,” having sex with the incapacitated person is rape. There’s no universal blood alcohol limit for consenting, so prosecutors typically focus on other indicators — such as vomiting, not being able to speak coherently and needing help to walk.

Later that night, the woman went to a bar with both suspects and other people from the party, she said. Her interactions with the first suspect continued for a few more months.

The woman did not tell any authorities about the party until almost two years later. By then, she had left Domo and married. Court records indicate the woman and her husband made a rape report to Salt Lake City police in early 2018. The aggravated sexual assault charges were filed against the two men in April 2018.

The men’s defense attorneys contended in court that none of the people at the party attendees corroborated the woman’s account. The defense questioned whether she was lying about aspects of what happened that night.

The suspect’s lawyers also pointed out the woman participated in jokes about the Red Bull can and noted that she had invited the second suspect to the party. (She said she invited him at someone else’s request.) The attorneys also portrayed her rape allegation as an effort to extract money from Domo.

In seeking corroborating evidence, subpoenas show, prosecutors had wanted Domo to provide human resources records and any complaints about the suspects and their accuser.

Domo’s most-recent annual report was released April 15. It said the company was not “party to any material legal proceedings.”

Domo is a cloud computing and software company that gathers data on its clients, analyzes it and provides the results to those clients in a readable format. The company’s website says its customers have included 7-Eleven, Disney, Mastercard and the Utah Jazz.

Domo became publicly traded on Nasdaq in 2018. Domo was worth more than $1 billion in April, though its stock has declined by almost half since then.